STS-102 Liftoff Status Page

Click here to see the launch countdown clock

Click here to follow the shuttle's progress after liftoff

Click here for the Space Shuttle Status Reports

KSC Live Video Feeds

Shuttle Discovery Launch Status

March 8, 2001, 6:42 a.m. EST at the begining of a 10 minute launch window.

Tanking operations began at 9:30 p.m. EST on March 7, 2001 and were completed by 2:45 a.m. EST. At 2:57 a.m., the crew departed the O&C building for Pad 39-B. At At 4:22 a.m EST the hatch was closed and locked for flight. Launch countdown proceeded smoothly. Liftoff at 6:42 a.m. EST

The launch countdown continues on schedule this morning leading toward a liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery at 6:42 a.m. on Thursday morning. The weather forecast remains unchanged with a 30% chance of not meeting the launch weather criteria due to cold temperatures. On Thursday, they will have a light snack at 1:45 a.m., then a weather briefing followed by suit up. Departure for Pad 39-B will occur at 2:55 a.m. and they will begin boarding Discovery just before 3:00 in the morning. The orbiter crew access hatch will be closed for launch at 4:40 a.m. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/07/2001)

On Sunday, March 4, the crew arrived at KSC and the countdown clock began at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 5. On March 6th, at Pad 39B the cryogenic reactants that Discovery will use to generate power during the mission were loaded onboard the vehicle. On Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. the gantry-like rotating service structure that provides the primary access and weather protection for the Space Shuttle at the pad will be retracted. Fueling of the external tank is scheduled to begin at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday. The astronauts will arrive at the launch pad at 3:20 a.m. on Thursday morning to begin boarding Discovery. Weather forecasters indicate a 30 percent chance of not meeting the launch weather criteria due to cold temperatures. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 3/06/2001)

On Thursday, January 25, 2001, In the OPF, technicians are closing out Discovery's forward, midbody and aft compartments in preparation to roll to the VAB next Thursday. Workers plan to close the payload bay doors today and begin orbiter weight and center of gravity tests next week. (Reference KSC Shuttle Status 1/25/2001)

This launch was previously scheduled for no earlier than October 19, 2000, rescheduled to February 15, 2001 and then to March 1, 2001 at 4:24 p.m. EST. Due to the rollback of STS-98, the March 1st date was moved to March 8, 2001 at 7:00am.EST.

STS-102 Movies and Images

STS-102 KSC Electronic Photo Archive
STS-102 KSC Electronic Movie Archive

Note:

The image on this page is from an NTSC video capture that is updated every minute from the T-5 hour mark on the countdown until launch. At all other times, the view is either connected to the NASA TV (NTV) feed (Click here for Video Advisories) or it is a static video capture of an Orbiter Television (OTV) camera that is updated a few times a day. If you have a WWW browser that caches images, you may need to select "Reload" periodically to see these images change. You may also want to look into getting your own live NASA Television Feed by loading CU-SeeMe on your system.

STS-102 Countdown Last Mission STS-98 Next Mission STS-100

---

Developed under the direction of the NASA KSC Public Affairs Office
Author: Jim Dumoulin (dumoulin@titan.ksc.nasa.gov) / NASA - Payload Operations
Last Updated: Monday April 9 12:54:24 EDT 2001(J.Dumoulin)

A service of NASA/Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Office, Joe Gordon Jr.,Director (Joseph.Gordon-1@ksc.nasa.gov)