spacetoday.net: Shuttle cleared for June 8 launch

Posted: Fri, Jun 1, 2007, 2:03 PM ET (1803 GMT)
STS-117: May 2007 rollout (NASA/KSC)

NASA shuttle managers Thursday approved plans to proceed with the launch of the shuttle Atlantis on the evening of June 8. The launch of Atlantis on mission STS-117 was set for Friday the 8th at 7:38 pm EDT (2338 GMT) after officials completed a two-day Flight Readiness Review at the Kennedy Space Center. The launch has been delayed nearly three months after the shuttle's external tank sustained hail damage while sitting on the launch pad in late February, in preparation for a mid-March launch. The damaged insulating foam on the tank was repaired, and engineers confirmed that the repaired segments would not come off during flight and strike the orbiter. The launch, the first shuttle mission in six months, will install a new segment of the station's truss. The shuttle will also carry a new ISS crew member, Clay Anderson, who will replace current ISS astronaut Sunita Williams.