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Columbia dodges storms, lifts off 12 minutes late
Web posted July 1, 1997
By Amy Joyner
``Well, gang, I've got to tell you, that's not bad for a 90 percent chance of no-go, huh?'' NASA spaceflight chief Wilbur Trafton Jr. told the launch team.
The shuttle Columbia blasted from the launch pad at 2:02 p.m., painting the gray-blue sky with a spire of orange flame and clouds of billowing exhaust smoke.
Lt. Cmdr. Still, who was raised in Augusta, is piloting the shuttle for the 16 day STS-94 microgravity science laboratory mission. This is her second spaceflight. Her first mission STS-83, made with the same crew in April, was forced to return 12 days early because of a defective power generator.
Tuesday's launch marked the first time in 36 years of human spaceflight that the same crew has flown together more than twice.
Plagued by mechanical problems during the first mission, the crew launch had no such obstacles to overcome on the second go-around. But the weather was against them from the beginning.
Air Force weather forecasters had predicted since the weekend that intermittent afternoon thunderstorms would likely keep the shuttle on the ground until Wednesday, if not later. To beat the storms, NASA officials on Monday moved the targeted launch time up 47 minutes to 1:50 p.m.
About 1 and-a-half hours before the launch, the skies over Kennedy Space Center darkened and the forecasted showers came. Photographers and reporters ran for cover at the press site, and NASA meteorologists were already calling the launch a wash.
The prospects didn't look much better an hour later. The area surrounding Kennedy Space Center was buffeted with thunderstorms and summer showers. NASA weather safety rules prohibit a shuttle from launching if there is any precipitation at the launch pad or in the flight path.
By 1:52 p.m., however, the storms had subsided and launch weather constraints were lifted and the shuttle was cleared for liftoff.
``Have a good flight. You're clear to launch,'' mission control announced, as crowds at the Banana Creek viewing area cheered and applauded. ``The weather's improving everywhere.
``Columbia, keep the dream alive.''
When it launched, the shuttle shot straight into blazing, hazy sky. The shuttle will remain in orbit for 16 days. During the mission, the astronauts will conduct 33 experiments to test how gravity affects combustion, crystal growth and plant growth.
These experiments are a precursor to the work that will be done on the planned International Space Station.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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