Atlantis STS-122 Shuttle Launch updste 07:20 EST 2007-12-06

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CBS NEWS STS-122 STATUS REPORT: 06
Posted: 7:20 AM, 12/6/07

By William Harwood
CBS News Space Analyst

Changes and additions:

SR-06 (12/06/07): Shuttle fueling begins

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7:20 AM, 12/6/07, Update: Shuttle Atlantis fueled for launch

Working by remote control, engineers began pumping a half-million gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel into the shuttle Atlantis' external tank early today, setting the stage for a launch attempt 4:31:45 p.m.

The three-hour fueling process began on time at 7:06 a.m., about 50 minutes after crew wakeup. Commander Steve Frick and his crewmates - pilot Alan Poindexter, flight engineer Rex Walheim, Leland Melvin, German astronaut Hans Schlegel, Stan Love and French space station astronaut Leopold Eyharts plan to begin donning their bright-orange pressure suits around 12:16 p.m. and head for the pad to strap in at 12:46 p.m.

The forecast continues to call for a 90 percent chance of good weather and a NASA spokesman said there are no technical problems of any significance at launch complex 39A.

"We're doing very well," he said. "We started fueling as soon as we came out of the T-minus-six-hour hold at 7:06. The (Mission Management Team) tanking meeting lasted all of 13 minutes. They're not working anything."

LIftoff is timed to coincide roughly with the moment Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the space station's orbit. As of late Wednesday, liftoff was targeted for 4:31:45 p.m., but the time could change by a few seconds during a final hold at the T-minus nine-minute mark.

Here is a timeline of the rest of today's countdown (in EST):

EST,,,,,,.....EVENT

07:06 AM......Oxygen (LO2), hydrogen (LH2) transfer line chilldown
07:16 AM......Main propulsion system chill down
07:16 AM......LH2 slow fill
07:46 AM......LO2 slow fill
07:51 AM......Hydrogen engine cutoff sensors go wet
07:56 AM......LO2 fast fill
08:06 AM......LH2 fast fill
10:01 AM......LH2 topping
10:06 AM......LH2 replenish
10:06 AM......LO2 replenish

10:06 AM......Begin 2-hour 30-minute built-in hold (T-minus 3 hours)
10:06 AM......Closeout crew to white room
10:06 AM......External tank in stable replenish mode
10:36 AM......Astronaut support personnel comm checks
10:55 AM......Astronaut crew quarters photo op (recorded)
11:11 AM......Pre-ingress cockpit switch reconfig
11:30 AM......NASA television coverage begins
12:06 PM......Final crew weather briefing
12:16 PM......Crew suit up begins
12:36 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 3 hours)

12:46 PM......Astronauts depart crew quarters
01:15 PM......Crew arrives at launch pad; cabin ingress begins
02:01 PM......Astronaut comm checks
02:31 PM......Hatch closure
03:11 PM......White room closeout

03:16 PM......Begin 10-minute built-in hold (T-minus 20m)
03:26 PM......NASA test director countdown briefing
03:26 PM......Resume countdown (T-minus 20m)

03:27 PM......Backup flight computer to OPS 1 software
03:31 PM......KSC area clear to launch

03:37 PM......Begin final built-in hold (T-minus 9m)
04:07 PM......NTD launch status verification
04:22:45 PM...Resume countdown (T-minus 9m)

04:24:15 PM...Orbiter access arm retraction
04:26:45 PM...Launch window opens
04:26:45 PM...Hydraulic power system (APU) start
04:26:50 PM...Terminate LO2 replenish
04:27:45 PM...Purge sequence 4 hydraulic test
04:27:45 PM...Inertial measurement units to inertial
04:27:50 PM...Aerosurface hydraulic system test
04:28:15 PM...Main engine steering test
04:28:50 PM...LO2 tank pressurization
04:29:10 PM...Fuel cells to internal reactants
04:29:15 PM...Clear caution-and-warning memory
04:29:45 PM...Crew closes visors
04:29:48 PM...LH2 tank pressurization
04:30:55 PM...Booster joint heater deactivation
04:31:14 PM...Shuttle computers take control of countdown
04:31:24 PM...Booster steering test
04:31:38 PM...Main engine start (T-6.6 seconds)
04:31:45 PM...Booster ignition (LAUNCH)

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