Discovery gets filled up
2005-07-13 13:55
Florida - Nasa managers early on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the fuelling of Discovery's external tank, indicating preparations were on track for launch of the first space shuttle since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
The decision was taken at a pre-dawn meeting during which the officials considered weather forecasts, which are crucial for the launch, which is set for 19:51 GMT.
Filling the massive external tank with almost two million litres of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen takes about three hours.
The planned lift-off would be the first by a space shuttle since Columbia burst into flames upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
- AFP