NOTE: Preparation for Thursday's launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-89 continues on schedule. At the pad yesterday, pyrotechnic initiator controller testing and loading of cryogenics into the orbiter's power reactant storage and distribution system were completed. This morning, final preparations of the Shuttle main engines for main propellant tanking began and activation of the orbiter's navigation and communication systems will also occur today.
Members of the current flight crew will take flights in the NASA T-38 training jets around midday and this evening Commander Terrence Wilcutt and Pilot Joe Frank Edwards will conduct flights in NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft. Also today, the crew will review and be briefed on mission payloads and experiments.
Current Air Force weather forecasts indicate a 60 percent chance that weather could prohibit launch on Thursday. The primary concern is for thick cloud coverage at the launch site. Also of concern are thunderstorm debris clouds resulting from a cold front in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and a low pressure trough in the western Gulf. Thursday's forecast calls for winds from the southeast at 12-18 knots, clouds scattered at 3,000 feet and 10,000 feet; broken at 25,000, visibility 7 miles, temperature 64 degrees F, 73 percent relative humidity, and no precipitation. The 24-hour delay forecast indicates a 60 percent chance of launch commit criteria violation and only a 20 percent chance of violation with a 48-hour launch delay.
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