NASA counted down on Tuesday to a third attempt to launch space shuttle Discovery on a mission vital to the program's future after easing worries over a crack in foam insulation on the ship's fuel tank.
Bad weather cancelled planned launches on Saturday and Sunday, but NASA forecasters said there was an 80 percent chance of favourable weather on this US Independence Day, the best prediction so far in this launch window.
The flight, set to lift off at 2:38 pm EDT (1838 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is critical to NASA's plan to finish the half-built International Space Station before the fleet is retired in 2010. An accident or serious problem likely would ground the shuttles permanently.
A small crack in the foam that insulates Discovery's massive external tank raised concerns on Monday, and NASA experts inspected the area early on Tuesday to see if any potentially damaging ice had formed in the area of the crack. None had, according to NASA flight commentator George Diller.
Despite extensive investigation, trouble-shooting and new design features, the problem recurred a year ago during a launch of Discovery. It forced NASA to ground the shuttle fleet while engineers worked on more modifications.
Even before this latest problem with foam, NASA administrator Michael Griffin had decided to proceed with the current launch over objections of his chief engineer and head of safety.
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