Ready for Liftoff

" the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida Space Shuttle Atlantis is just hours away from today's scheduled launch lift off is expected shortly before 230. Eastern time and forecasters say there's a 70% chance the weather will cooperate. Among other things astronauts will halt nearly 30000 pounds of spare parts of the International Space Station. Install two platforms to the outside of -- And bring back astronaut Nicole stout who's been living aboard the space station since August -- Keating is live at the Kennedy Space Center. With warm so -- any issues out there at the -- Spezza."

" Good morning Alison no issues whatsoever technically speaking this launch countdown is going perfectly as far as NASA's -- the only real issue right now. All the low level clouds that are around the space -- that 30% chance of whether or not being favorable after a -- and a spectacularly cloudless we've got -- 90%. Or -- lines as a -- yesterday. But the commander Charles -- and pilot very well more and the other four astronauts they'll look up around. 5:30 this morning there doing their pre launch -- the taking process began. But before sunrise the three hour process begin -- half a million gallons of -- hydrogen. And liquid oxygen all of that went smoothly so no leaks detected nothing technical again. That's just hoping that the weather does remained pretty good so that we get the bird up. All right so this is close to me something in a shorter mission. Yeah we've seen in past -- typically been fourteen to sixteen days long but the Atlantis does not have the equipment on board that allows. The shuttle to -- power from the International Space Station. Once it's open space docked to it so it's going to be an eleven day mission -- of the silverlight and all of its own power but it's going to be very busy. Three spacewalks are planned on this mission and that this is really all about spare parts because. After that slot there are only five shuttle launches remaining before the news retired. And asked taking advantage of using the big cargo space all of a whole lot replacement parts. Just in case in the future the International Space Station have a problem. With power or overheating or -- out of control. Whether they have a couple of extra gyroscopes on this mission. And then there's one more note to install to assemble the International Space Station that goes up. On the next mission which is him. That's -- complicated but of course Anderson at all -- of getting thank you very much you know watching I don't trust. Now's the time you're rocket science yeah heeding those that yeah -- keep. Right right I haven't felt that you've got -- drive -- We're."