Discovery Poised for Scientific Mission to ISS Fueling of the
space shuttle Discovery continued Aug. 24 with NASA predicting
an 80 percent chance of good weather for a 1:36 a.m. Aug. 26
blastoff to the International Space Station. The launch marks
the 128th mission in shuttle program history and the 30th
shuttle visit to the ISS. Unlike previous missions, which have
focused on the ongoing construction of the ISS, the Discovery
mission is primarily focused on delivering more than seven tons
of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional
environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the
orbital outpost. "I'm really pleased to report that launch
countdown activities are proceeding normally and we are working
no issues," Pete Nickolenko, launch director, said in a
statement. NASA said current predictions call for four launch
windows within the next five days. With that many launch
windows, NASA said there is a 96 percent chance of a successful
launch. Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick "