Shuttle Launch at 7:13 pm ET today (Sunday) - Watch it here >>

[Dover]

The Mission is to the space station with an international crew already there.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[NightWatcher]

1. scrubbed for today, try again tomorrow. Window opens at 18:18

[Dover]

3. Geez, they announced it just after posting. Bad weather. It was supposed to launch originally

in mid June. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be sitting there minutes away from launch and then have it scrubbed...

[Ian David]

2. Just scrubbed until tomorrow night. n/t

[Turbineguy]

4. Just delayed due to weather

until tomorrow 1851

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. can we afford shuttle launches?

[cboy4]

6. Why don't they permanently move the operation to Edwards AFB in California?

I realize the history of Kennedy, but we go through this seemingly every launch and landing.



edit:typo

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. I think primarily it is a safety issue.

They launch to the East. Imagine the consequences of a Challenger-like disaster if they launched from Southern California.

Edited to add that not all launches are directly East, either. It depends on the target (ISS, in this case) and the particular track its orbit is on.

[cboy4]

9. Yes. I guess there would be no safe place to recover the booster rockets and

the main fuel tank either.

I know there are reasons .. it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.

TYPO

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. Right. The external tank isn't recovered though.

The boosters are, but the tank burns up.

[madokie]

13. I believe it has something to do with it being closer to the equator

takes less energy to get into orbit as one gets closer to the equator. I think I remember reading about this somewhere

[pratikdaklawa]

8. NASA needs to be downsized

NASA burns too much money.

[A HERETIC I AM]

10. NASA needs to be expanded and given a proper mission.

Building a lunar base, for instance.

[Duckhunter935]

12. Very little money actually