The launch window is open until 13/9 but a launch beyond 7/9 will delay the replacement of the shuttle crew with the Soyuz spacecraft
Avi Blizovsky
29/8/06 שעה 23:20
The American space agency, NASA, returned the space shuttle "Atlantis" for the launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is after meteorologists in the United States downgraded "Ernesto" from a hurricane to a tropical storm. In the afternoon, NASA announced that it will take "Atlantis" off the launch pad, due to the severe weather expected in the coming days in the area, with the arrival of the storm.
29/8/06 שעה 21:30
The space agency NASA has canceled the launch of the shuttle Atlantis, which was planned for today, because of Hurricane Ernesto. Instead of outer space, the shuttle went on a 12-hour journey to a closed hangar that would protect it from Ernesto's damage. Atlantis' mission, the continued construction of the International Space Station, will also suffer delays due to the cancellation.
Leroy Kane, who is in charge of the launch, said that the agency waited until the morning to try to see if the storm's path would change after all, but there was no good news this morning and the agency decided to continue rolling Atlantis back to the shuttle storage and assembly facility. In such a case, from the moment the launch is decided, preparations for it will take eight days.
STS-115: Atlantis launch delayed until after the storm. The launch window until 13/9
28/8/06 time 17:35
At a press conference held at this time (17:35), NASA representatives said that every effort will be made to carry out the launch during the month of September. It was also reported that if the storm Ernesto passes through Cape Canaveral, the astronauts will be evacuated by plane to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA and the US Navy will also be required to evacuate dozens of ships waiting to rescue the shuttle passengers in the event of an emergency. Some of the workers will be evacuated to the control center, which is built to protect them from hurricanes.
The heavy vehicles are ready to roll the shuttle, the external fuel tank and the rocket boosters back tomorrow morning US time. The assessment is according to the speakers, that as of now it has been decided to roll and only if it becomes clear for good that the storm will not endanger the ferry, the roll will be cancelled. Cancellation is possible until a moment before the time set for the scroll - as mentioned tomorrow at nine in the morning local time (16:00 Israel time).
Once the shuttle is disconnected from the launch, it will take eight days to prepare it back for launch. However, in response to the journalists' question, NASA officials said that an effort will be made to launch the spacecraft during September, even if changes are required in the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft launches to the International Space Station.
28/8/2007 שעה 16:10
The managers of the Atlantis STS-115 mission to the International Space Station decided today, Shabani, that it will be delayed by a few days due to the storm Ernesto that hit Cuba at the end of the week and is making its way to Florida today.
NASA has also begun preparations to drive the spacecraft back to the shuttle train structure, although the final decision will be made on Tuesday afternoon, when the exact path of Tropical Storm Ernesto becomes clear.
The daytime launch window will last until September 13, but mission managers hope to have a routine by September 7 to avoid a collision with the Soyuz spacecraft replacing the International Space Station crew. Senior NASA officials are in contact with their counterparts in Russia to coordinate the matter.
