When is NASA scheduled to launch its space shuttle today?”
The U.S. space agency NASA is making final preparations for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. NASA crews have fueled the shuttle and are now working through a series of pre-launch inspections. Liftoff is scheduled for Monday afternoon (2:28 p.m. EST) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Despite increasingly cloudy skies, NASA officials say there is a 70 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch.
Space shuttle set to deliver critical spare parts to International Space Station NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida today loaded with critical spare parts for the International Space Station. The shuttle, with its six-man crew, launched as scheduled at 2:28 p.m. EST, to deliver equipment, including two gyroscopes, to the International Space Station. NASA is focused on building up a reserve of spare parts on the space station in anticipation of the retirement of the space shuttle fleet. “You’ll see this theme in some of the flights that are going to come after ours as well,” said Brian Smith, the lead space station flight director for the mission, in a statement. “This flight is all about spares. Basically, we’re getting them up there while we still can.” The equipment is considered highly critical to the operation of the space station, according to NASA. At this point, there are only six flights left for the space shuttles before they’re s
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is set to launch today at 2:28 p.m. You can watch the launch in the live video player below. The STS-129 crew members include Commander Charles Hobaugh, Pilot Barry Wilmore, and astronauts Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert Satcher Jr., and Randy Bresnik. The mission will pick up and return astronaut Nicole Stott.
