Bad weather threatens shuttle launch

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. : Saturday: December 09, 2006: NASA is marching toward another evening launch attempt for Discovery on Saturday, but bad weather could keep the space shuttle grounded again.

Even as final preparations were made Friday night into early Saturday, the space agency delayed by six hours a key milestone — moving the protective scaffolding away from the shuttle. Yet that should not keep NASA from meeting the 8:47 p.m. EST launch time, spokesman Bruce Buckingham said early Saturday.

Although there was only a 30 percent chance of acceptable weather Saturday because of high winds, isolated showers and low clouds, technicians on Friday fueled the shuttle's power cells.

NASA managers will hold a crucial morning meeting to decide whether to continue with the launch attempt despite the forecast or to cut its losses and wait until Sunday. Each launch scrub costs the space agency $500,000.

If they decide to go ahead, technicians will start loading fuel into the shuttle's external tank.

Because of various restrictions on the on-board electrical system, NASA is unlikely to be able to launch on Monday. But the space agency can try either Saturday or Sunday or on both days, spokeswoman Jessica Rye said.

After a nail-biter of a countdown Thursday in which low clouds that scrubbed the launch nearly dissipated, NASA opted to skip a Friday attempt because of a dismal forecast.

"If the weather forecast stays where it is now, it is more than likely they will be going for a launch attempt tomorrow," astronaut James Kelly at Mission Control in Houston told the space station crew Friday afternoon. "It looks like the weather is similar to what it was yesterday, and as you know we came very close to getting it yesterday."

The chances for good weather improve to 40 percent on Sunday and Monday. The best opportunity for launching over the next several days is Tuesday, with a 60 percent chance of decent weather.

During the 12-day mission, Discovery's astronauts will rewire the space station, bring up a new 2-ton addition to the space lab and rotate out one of the three station crew members.

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