Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Winter Weather Possible Early Friday

A pattern somewhat favorable for precipitation will develop late Thursday, bringing the possibility of a brief round of winter weather to central Virginia on Friday. Vertical temperature profiles suggest that snow would be the primary mode of precipitation, with a mix to sleet and then rain throughout the course of the morning. I'll have the latest on this developing winter weather situation today at 5:00, 5:30, 6, and 11.

UPDATE: Discovery Launch Delayed...Again

EVENING UPDATE: The scheduled space shuttle launch of Discovery (see original blog posting below) has been delayed again, this time because of a leak in "gaseous hydrogen vent line," according to NASA. Another launch attempt may occur Thursday night.

---THIS MORNING'S POST---

After a month delay, U.S. space shuttle Discovery is on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ready to take off Wednesday night at 9:20 p.m. EDT. You can watch the launch live online here.

The weather looks fine for a safe launch tonight, as the cold front that will move through Central Virginia this evening will not reach Cape Canaveral. However, weather was not the reason why the mission was delayed last month, but rather, concerns about the safety of fuel pressure gauges. After a month of testing, managers cleared the vessel for its mission.

Discovery’s crew will assist in final installation of the International Space Station’s solar-power system, and also ferry Japan’s first “resident” crew member to the station. Discovery will remain docked in orbit with the ISS for two weeks. While there, crew members will unload $300 million worth of solar wing panels, and also install a replacement distiller for the experimental urine recycling system that has experienced some glitches. (That interesting piece of technology takes the urine and sweat of the astronauts and converts it back into clean water, which the astronauts drink!)

The Space Station has been under construction for more than a decade. It is visible to the naked eye on clear nights as it orbits the Earth 220 miles above the ground, and it is often a little brighter when a shuttle is docked, too. You can check viewing opportunities in Virginia here.

--Carrie