Madelain Tigano–The Corsair
Weather may be the only factor for delay in the launch of STS-131, which is scheduled for Monday morning at 6:21 a.m. EST. PJC’s alumnus, Alan Poindexter will be commanding the Discovery launch.
Today at the Kennedy Space Center for the STS-131 news conference, the management team took on questions revolving around system and weather briefings.
“The countdown is in great shape and we are not tracking any issues,” Pete Nickolenko said, the STS-131 launch director.
Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer, said that the only concern with the weather for Monday’s launch could be fog. There is a 20 percent chance of visual weather prohibiting launch.
“The winds are shifting around from the east more, so our temperatures don’t drop quite as cold all the way down to the dew point temperature, so we have less chance of fog,” Winters said.
If the launch is scrubbed, NASA will resume the STS-131 mission Tuesday morning April 6. There is a two day launch window for the STS-131. If the shuttle doesn’t get off the ground by Tuesday, then the crew will be delayed three days after.