UPDATE: 9 p.m., EDT, Brush Fires Near Shuttle Launch Pad Contained
Smoke billows from brush fires near Endeavour's launch pad. Photo Credit/NASA Photo
A brush fire flared not too far from Endeavour’s launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday afternoon. Though smokey, the blaze did not disrupte the countdown leading to Endeavour scheduled lift off on Friday at 3:47 p.m., EDT.
Officials at Kennedy said the blaze was contained around 7:30 p.m., EDT, about five hours after the first reports.
The blaze was likely sparked by lightning that accompanied stormy weather on Tuesday.
Smoke from the blaze was visible from Launch Complex 39. Endeavour is poised for lift off at Launch Pad 39A. A turning basin, or lagoon, provides water way access for shuttle external fuel tanks and other hardware that have supported shuttle operations at Kennedy.
Endeavour awaits final flight. Photo Credit/NASA Photo
Countdown activities unfolded smoothly on Wednesday for the launching of shuttle Endeavour’s final flight, a send off President Obama and his family intend to witness from Central Florida.
The launching of Endeavour with six astronauts and a major science payload to the International Space Station is scheduled for Friday at 3:47 p.m., EDT.
“Everything is in great shape,” Mike Moses, the chair of NASA’s Mission Management Team told a morning news briefing.
The weather outlook for Endeavour’s departure, which is expected to draw as many as 700,000 spectators to Central Florida, remained favorable as well. The passage of a cold front on Thursday is expected to produce showers and thunderstorms, followed by clearing. Friday’s forecast includes an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions.
There is a small chance that northerly breezes could violate cross wind limits for the shuttle’s emergency runway at Kennedy.
Launch director Mike Leinbach said NASA is working with the White House on the final arrangements for Obama’s visit. The first family’s presence is welcomed and will not be an operational impact, though NASA has informed the White House it would prefer Air Force One not use the shuttle runway at Kennedy, Leinbach said.
The three-mile long runway is kept free of obstruction during the shuttle’s climb to orbit — in case the astronauts need to attempt an emergency landing.
Endeavour will head for the space station with the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle detector designed to characterize primordial anti matter and dark matter — findings that could help scientists explain the birth and evolution of the universe.
The shuttle astronauts will also deliver a large external platform with spare parts for the station’s thermal control, communications and robotics systems.
The fliers plan four spacewalks, each an outing to prepare the space station for the post-shuttle era. NASA is planning one more mission. Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to lift off on June 28 with additional space station supplies.
Space agency officials will also welcome Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the wife of Endeavour commander Mark Kelly. Giffords has been under going rehabilitation at the Texas Medical Center in Houston for a gun shot wound she received at a Jan. 8 political rally in Tucson.
Mark Kelly. Photo Credit/NASA PHoto
“She’s NASA family,” said Leinbach. “We’re obviously very pleased she’s coming to support Mark and his flight.”
Typically, crew family members stay well out of public view as they participate in NASA’s hosted activities during the countdown.