Posted: Mon, Aug 6, 2001, 10:01 PM ET (0201 GMT)
The countdown for Thursday's launch of the shuttle Discovery began late Monday after shuttle managers determined there were no problems with the shuttle's boosters. The countdown for the launch of STS-105 began at 5 pm EDT (2100 GMT) Monday at the T-43 hour mark for a launch Thursday, August 9, at 5:38 pm EDT (2138 GMT). The countdown began after shuttle managers met for the third straight day to investigate the possibility that components of a hydraulic power unit in one of the shuttle's SRBs were cracked. Officials concluded that there were no issues with the hydraulic unit that required additional work. Had NASA decided to replace the unit, it would have delayed the launch by up to a week. The shuttle is scheduled to spend 12 days in space with the primary purpose of exchanging crews on the International Space Station.

Related Links:

•  NASA shuttle status report
•  Spaceflight Now mission status center
•  spaceflight.nasa.gov mission information