[sarex] STS-121 STATUS 3:16pm edt - 1 jULY 2006

[Arthur Rowe <azrowe80@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468


3:16 p.m. - At T-9 minutes and holding, we are still "no-go" for 
thunderstorms and clouds in the area. The Shuttle Launch Weather Officer 
is still monitoring the situation and the weather does still have time 
to clear. There will be a number of polls coming up: one by John Shannon 
of the Mission Management Team, one by Jeff Spaulding for the Test 
Directors and Mike Leinbach will conduct one as Launch Director. All of 
these polls determine if we are ready to come out of the hold.

*Did you know?*
The weather conditions must be acceptable at one of the three 
Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites to launch. The sites are 
Zaragoza, Spain; Moron, Spain; or Istres, France. Today's preferred 
landing site is in Moron, Spain.

2:54 p.m. - The countdown is at T-9 minutes and holding. The Closeout 
Crew is departing the pad.

2:50 p.m. - Pilot Mark Kelly is configuring computer displays in the 
cockpit for launch. NASA's Contingency Support Operations are reporting 
ready. There is one scheduled hold remaining in the countdown at T-9 
minutes; it is a 40-minute built-in hold.

2:43 p.m. - The march to launch continues with T-20 minutes and 
counting. The orbiter's thruster issue has been cleared for launch by 
the Mission Management Team. The weather is still in question, but there 
are no other major issues being addressed. Calibrations of Discovery's 
navigation system IMUs have been completed.

2:38 p.m. - NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding 
<http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/biographies/spaulding.html> 
has given the T-20 briefing to update the launch team on how to handle 
any issues that could arise during the rest of the hold.
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