Posted: Mon, Jul 11, 2005, 8:41 AM ET (1241 GMT)
The countdown for Wednesday afternoon's launch of the shuttle Discovery started Sunday evening with no technical issues reported and a favorable weather forecast. The STS-114 countdown began at 6 pm EDT (2200 GMT) Sunday for a launch at 3:51 pm EDT (1951 GMT) Wednesday. NASA managers said Sunday that the shuttle was in "excellent shape" with no known technical issues that could delay the launch. Forecasts called for a 70 percent chance of favorable weather on Wednesday, although the weather is expected to degrade later in the week.

Related Links:

•  MSNBC article
•  Florida Today article
•  CBS News/Spaceflight Now article
•  Reuters article
•  BBC article