[sarex] STS-115 READY FOR LAUNCH

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

The crew for mission STS-115 arrived back at NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on Saturday morning to prepare for launch of Atlantis on Sept. 6. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast.

The astronauts will deliver the port three and four (P3/P4) integrated truss segment, the prime payload of the mission, to the International Space Station. Once installed, the truss and solar arrays will double the current power-generating capacity of the orbiting outpost.

Liftoff of Atlantis from Launch Pad 39B is set for 12:29 p.m. EDT.