Atlantis and Crew Move Closer to Launch Day

This weekend, technicians at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A will finish stowing the Orbiter Boom Sensor System in space shuttle Atlantis. In addition, they’ll repair minor damage to a radiator faceplate on Atlantis’ left payload bay door. The damage occurred last week when a wrench socket hit the radiator during payload installation.

Launch countdown preparations began at Kennedy on Friday following Thursday’s executive-level Flight Readiness Review that cleared the way for a May 11 liftoff for the mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The panel determined the shuttle’s equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. Launch is set for 2:01 p.m. EDT.

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-125 astronauts completed medical checkups Friday prior to entering the standard prelaunch quarantine Monday. They are set to arrive for launch at Kennedy next Friday.