The space shuttle is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its final space flight Friday at 11:26 a.m. EDT. This won't just be the last mission for Atlantis. It also will be the , which is being retired after 30 years.
The problem may be the weather.
As of 2:45 p.m. Thursday, the space shuttle launch team was investigating a possible lightning strike that may hit within a third of a mile from the shuttle's launch pad. NASA said engineers are reviewing data to determine if the lightning affected Atlantis or any of the pad's ground support equipment.
However, a rolling band of thunderstorms moving through the area has kept crews from being able to conduct a thorough inspection of the pad area.
Today's tumultuous weather may continue into Friday, which could disrupt liftoff.
At a Thursday morning pre-launch briefing, Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters said there is only a 30% change of favorable weather for a Friday morning launch.
When the shuttle does lift off, it will be the start of a 13-day mission that will have its four-person crew delivering supplies, a major experiment and spare parts to the . NASA has been trying to load up the station with supplies and spare parts to sustain its operations once the shuttle fleet is no longer flying missions.
The experiment loaded on Atlantis is washing machine-size mockup of what basically is a gas station in space.
The Robotic Refueling Mission is an experiment that will be attached to the outside of the space station where astronauts will use the station's to test the tools that would be needed to robotically refuel satellites.
Atlantis, which was rolled out on March 6, 1985, has flown 32 flights and 111.3 million miles.
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at or subscribe to . Her e-mail address is .
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