Countdown Started for Secret Shuttle Mission

NASA on Sunday night began the countdown for the shuttle Atlantis, which is scheduled to blast off Thursday night on a secret mission to put a satellite in orbit that may be used to monitor activities in the Persian Gulf region.

Shuttle countdowns typically begin three days before takeoff, but NASA managers decided to start Atlantis’ one day early, sources said, because of Air Force plans to launch a Titan 4 rocket tonight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Titan launching was expected to interrupt work at the shuttle pad.

If all goes well, the shuttle’s five-man, all-military crew will fly here Tuesday for final preparations.

As usual with such military missions, details about the flight are secret. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will say only that the shuttle is scheduled to be launched sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

But sources who requested anonymity said that the takeoff is planned for 6:46 p.m. and that the shuttle can be launched as late as 8:12 p.m., if problems prevent an on-time liftoff.

The duration of the mission is also classified, but sources said that the 37th shuttle flight is scheduled to last three days, 23 hours and 55 minutes, resulting in a landing Nov. 19, at 3:41 p.m. PST, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Atlantis originally was scheduled to be launched in mid-July, but the flight was put on hold when a hydrogen leak was detected during a fueling test June 29.