Columbia Ready for Launch, NASA Says

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Columbia, earthbound for 3 1/2 years and cannibalized for parts to keep other space shuttles flying, was pronounced trouble-free Monday and ready for a launching this morning to put a high-powered spy satellite in orbit.

“Everything is on schedule; there are no constraints to launch,” said Lisa Malone, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokeswoman at Kennedy Space Center.

The five-man crew was told that the weather appeared to be no problem. Their ship, the oldest in the fleet, has had 258 modifications to bring it up to par with the others and, in the process, has gained 2,500 pounds.

Everything about the mission, except the names of the all-male, all-military crew, was secret--including time of liftoff, length of mission and the cargo in the shuttle’s 60-foot-long hold.

NASA said only that the liftoff would be between 4:30 and 8:30 a.m. PDT. The most likely time was a few minutes before 5. In the past, military missions have lasted only four days, but this one is expected to remain aloft a day longer to test the shuttle’s control systems, unused for 3 1/2 years.

NASA conducted its countdown in secret. The clocks scattered around the Kennedy Space Center were to be lit just nine minutes before launching. NASA will provide only minimal announcements during the flight, including the time of landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Sources said that the astronauts will launch a 20,600-pound satellite capable of gathering photographic and electronic images of the Soviet Union, China, the Middle East and other areas of military interest.

Columbia was the first of the flying orbiters and completed five missions in 1981 and 1982 before the second ship, Challenger, joined the fleet. Columbia became outdated as the newer ships came along, and when the fleet got its complete overhaul during the 2 1/2-year post-Challenger hiatus starting in 1986, Discovery and Atlantis got preferred treatment. Columbia was used as a parts source until modernizing began last November.