Space Science Mission Faces Weather Delay
A cold front packing rain and possibly thunderstorms threatened to dash NASA’s plans to send space shuttle Atlantis on an atmospheric research mission today.
Forecasters said Sunday there was only a 20% chance the weather would cooperate for an 8:01 a.m. liftoff and a 30% chance the weather would be acceptable later in the morning.
Other than the weather, everything was going well. Both Atlantis and its cargo, an assortment of ozone-measuring instruments, are in good shape, NASA officials said.
“This is one of the cleanest countdowns that I can remember,” said shuttle test director Al Sofge.
Launch director Bob Sieck said shuttle fueling would begin late Sunday night as long as there was a hint of good weather at launch time.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be good enough,” Sieck said.
The dismal forecast distressed scientists hoping for an extra day of orbital research. If liftoff is delayed, the chance of a longer flight diminishes because the shuttle might have to land in darkness.
“We can plan for everything in the world except weather,” said mission manager Tony O’Neil.
The voyage with seven astronauts, planned to last eight days, is the first shuttle flight dedicated to atmospheric research. It is part of NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth, a long-term program to study the environment from space.
Scientists have been working on the mission for more than seven years. The flight originally was scheduled for 1986 but was put on hold after the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff early that year.
Thirteen scientific instruments occupy Atlantis’ cargo bay, most of them designed to study the atmosphere and solar energy. Scientists say they need to understand better how natural phenomena like sunlight affect the atmosphere and to what extent man-made pollutants harm it.
Atlantis’ flight, commanded by Charles Bolden Jr., is the first of up to 10 atmospheric research missions planned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration over the next decade. A mission is planned every year or so to cover an 11-year solar cycle.
