Shuttle Launch is Set for June 8

By Martin Merzer, The Miami Herald

May 31–A two-day flight readiness review ended Thursday with NASA formally clearing shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts for a long-delayed mission to the International Space Station.

Liftoff of the first shuttle flight of the year is scheduled for 7:38 p.m. June 8 from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

“We’re good to go,” said Wayne Hale, shuttle program manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Originally planned for March 15, the mission was postponed after a freak Feb. 26 thunderstorm pelted Atlantis with hail. Ground crews spent months repairing thousands of divots and dings in the insulation of the ship’s external fuel tank.

“In spite of a great deal of work that had to be done, the team accomplished it in a very fine manner,” Hale said. “We are extremely confident we have done perfectly good repairs and we will have a tank that is safe to fly.”

Once in space, the crew will spend 11 days delivering components and supplies to the space station. In addition, Atlantis will ferry a new crewmember to the station and bring home an astronaut who has been there for more than five months.

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