SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS TO LIFT OFF WEDNESDAY=NOT

Space Shuttle Atlantis was scrubbed for launch today due to a fuel cell sensor not working correctly. They will be meeting today to see if it can be fixed on the pad or if it is simply a computer glitch that can be workrd out. If so they will try to launch of Thursday or Friday. I will update this tomorrow. It's better to be safe than sorry.


















CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA cleared shuttle Atlantis for three consecutive launch attempts this week during a meeting of mission managers at Kennedy Space Center on Monday.

Liftoff is scheduled for 12:28 p.m. Wednesday. If Atlantis doesn't get off the ground then, shuttle officials will try again Thursday and Friday.

NASA has made launch attempts on three consecutive days only once before in the program's 25-year history. That was in May 2000 to launch Atlantis on an assembly flight to the international space station. The shuttle lifted off on the third attempt.

Mission managers typically try to avoid three straight tries to hold down fatigue among members of the launch team. However, Atlantis must lift off by Friday or face a possible delay until October.

"[One of] the things we look at there are the need of the programs to try three in a row, and that's clear this time," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said. "We were unanimous in support to do three in a row should that become necessary. Hopefully, it won't."

REST OF THE STORY HERE: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-nasa0506sep05,0,3608061.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-space

AND THE OTHER LINK HAS SOME AWESOME PHOTOS..CHECK THEM OUT !
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-atlantispg080206,0,5813386.photogallery?coll=orl-news-headlines-space&index=1