The astronauts’ trip to space begins with an short drive to the launch pad. After spending the morning at the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building, the crew is now riding inside NASA’s silver Astrovan, which is a modified Airstream motor coach. The vehicle is big enough on the inside to accommodate the crew members and their bulky pressure suits. It will take less than half an hour to reach Atlantis.
Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters advised the launch team that the weather conditions at Kennedy are improving. She said the cloud cover now in the area should move away by launch time and leave the sky clear for Atlantis’ flight.
The shuttle is showing no technical issues and launch is on schedule for 2:28 p.m. EST.