Shuttle Countdown Starts; ‘Star Wars’ Study Planned

The countdown began Saturday for the shuttle Discovery’s scheduled launch Tuesday on a “Star Wars” research flight, a liftoff that would come just 12 days after the shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth but more than a month behind schedule because of worrisome hinge cracks.

Discovery’s countdown began on time for a launch attempt at 4:05 a.m. PDT Tuesday, with forecasters predicting a 70% chance of stormy weather that could delay blastoff.

“All we need is some good weather Tuesday morning,” mission commander Michael Coats told reporters after the seven-member crew arrived for final preparations. “If you all know any prayers, please say them because we’ll be anxious to climb in and do it just one time.”

If Discovery is not off the launch pad by Thursday, the flight will be delayed five days to top off coolant supplies needed by a “Star Wars” research satellite in the shuttle’s cargo bay. But NASA managers were optimistic about getting the shuttle into orbit at some point this week.

“All is going well on the countdown. It’s very, very clean,” NASA test director Albert Sofge said.

A liftoff Tuesday would come 18 days after the shuttle Atlantis blasted off on the year’s first mission, a seven-day flight in which a $617-million astronomy satellite was deployed.

And if all goes well, the shuttle Columbia will take off around May 24 on a Spacelab science mission, marking the third shuttle launch in 49 days--beating a 54-day record set in 1985.

The goal of Discovery’s eight-day flight is to gather data about how shuttle rocket plumes behave and appear in space to help engineers figure out ways to identify and track enemy missiles, a critical element of the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” space defense scheme.

To do so, Discovery’s astronauts will operate a battery of experiments in the shuttle’s cargo bay and will launch and later retrieve a high-tech satellite that will study shuttle rocket firings from afar as well as the release of various rocket fuels into space by three small subsatellites.

Other instruments will gather data about the space environment and Earth’s atmosphere to help scientists understand what types of sensors will work best to distinguish missiles in a variety of lighting conditions against different backdrops.

It is the most ambitious space-based “Star Wars” project ever attempted, requiring the astronauts to work in two shifts around the clock throughout the mission to orchestrate more than 200 shuttle rocket firings and a host of experiments.

Discovery’s launch originally was scheduled for March 9 but was postponed when engineers discovered cracks in the hinge mechanisms of critical fuel line doors.