Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson leads the way aboard the Astrovan that transported his crew, pilot Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim, to Atlantis for a countdown rehearsal. Photo Credit/NASA Photo
Atlantis astronauts Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim wrapped up a countdown dress rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, one of the final major milestones in their preparations to launch as soon as July 8th on the last shuttle mission.
Ferguson, the commander, and the others boarded Atlantis and strapped into their seats while dressed in their flight suits. Countdown clocks ticked down to four seconds then stopped, allowing the fliers to run through a launch pad escape drill.
Atlantis is being prepped for a 12 day mission to the International Space Station carrying enough supplies to keep the six-person orbiting science laboratory staffed with six astronauts through 2012. The mission will provide NASA’s emerging commercial cargo supplies with “schedule margin” in their efforts to take over for the shuttle.
The shuttle crew was to return to their training base at the Johnson Space Center in Houston later Thursday.
NASA has scheduled a Flight Readiness Review for Tuesday to assess preparations for the shuttle program’s 135th and final flight. At the conclusion, top agency officials will announce a formal launch date.
Currently, preparations are on schedule for a July 8 lift off at 11:26 a.m., EDT.
Ground teams are wrapping up X-rays of the shuttle’s external fuel tank, following a ground test last week to test for cracks in the “stinger section” of the propellant container. The teams have also replaced a leaky fuel valve that surfaced during the test.
If not detected during the test, the leak would have brought a July 8 launch attempt to a halt.