All Systems “Go” for Atlantis’ May 11 Launch

The pace of prelaunch activities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida picks up today with only three days remaining until liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-125 mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

“All of the systems are in great shape,” reported NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber during this morning’s countdown status briefing at Kennedy. “Launch countdown preps are complete and we don’t have any issues to report right now. Our launch team here at Kennedy Space Center is proud to be a part of this historic mission that will expand the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the universe and extend its life into the next decade.”

Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters reported only a 20 percent chance that weather could cause issues at the preferred launch time of 2:01 p.m. EDT May 11. The team has a launch window of about one hour that opens 20 minutes earlier at 1:41 p.m.

At 3:30 p.m., launch personnel will take their seats inside Firing Room 4 of Kennedy’s Launch Control Center. The countdown will begin at 4 p.m., ticking backward from T-43 hours. At the launch pad, Atlantis’ payload bay doors will be closed this afternoon.

The seven astronauts who will conduct the mission are due to fly in from their home base at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, arriving at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility at 5 p.m.