SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

LAUNCH COVERAGE NASA's Launch Blog - Mission STS-116

TIMES ARE EASTERN STANDARD TIME NASA's launch blog was activated on December 7, 2006 at 3:25 p.m. EST

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7:05 p.m. - During its inspection earlier in the countdown, the Ice Inspection Team found a very small piece of ice at the end of the northern-most vent of the two vents that carry the gaseous oxygen away from the external fuel tank's beanie cap. The vents are the two large white pipes emanating vapors near the top of the tank. The issue is being reviewed by mission managers and we'll let you know when we hear more.

7:04 p.m. - With the entire crew now seated inside Discovery, another countdown milestone has passed.

7:00 p.m. - At T-1 hour, 39 minutes and counting, all is progressing well toward our liftoff at 9:35 p.m. Air to ground voice checks are continuing between the crew and the mission managers in the Firing Room. Cabin closeouts will begin once all seven astronauts are seated.

6:52 p.m. - There is still quite a bit of discussion about weather here at Kennedy tonight. Not only do launch managers have to ensure a safe launch, they also must make sure weather is safe in the unlikely event of a return-to-launch-site abort.

6:50 p.m. - The Ground Launch Sequencer has been activated and the Vehicle Assembly Building doors are being closed in anticipation of liftoff. One of the world's largest buildings by volume, the cavernous assembly facility covers a ground area of about eight acres and has a volume of approximately 129,482,000 cubic feet.

6:49 p.m. - The two solid rocket booster recovery ships http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/recovery_ships.html, Freedom Star and Liberty Star, are on station in the Atlantic Ocean about 140 miles northeast of Kennedy Space Center off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla.

The ships will retrieve the boosters and return them back to the Cape in preparation for their trip by train to Utah, where they'll be readied for a future shuttle launch.

6:42 p.m. - As astronaut Bob Curbeam finishes getting ready to enter the orbiter, he's holding up signs for the TV camera inside the White Room. The first read "Go Colts," referring to the Indianapolis Colts football team. The second sign read "Hi Eva."

6:34 p.m. - Joan Higginbotham javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/higginbo.html') and Robert Curbeam javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/curbeam.html') will be the last two crew members to enter the orbiter.

6:30 p.m. - Earlier this afternoon, the crew module was configured by the Astronaut Support Personnel. Known as the "Cape Crusaders," they helped prepare the orbiter for launch today. For this mission, the team is composed of astronaut Barry (Butch) Wilmore javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/wilmore-be.html'), who is serving as Prime, and astronauts Michael (Bueno) Good javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/good-mt.html'), Kathryn (Kay) Hire javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hire.html'), Jose Hernandez javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www11.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hernandez-jm.html') and Robert Behnken javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/behnken-rl.html').

6:28 p.m. - Next up is Nicholas Patrick javascript:openNASAWindow('http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/patrick.html'), serving as Mission Specialist 1.

6:25 p.m. - As the crew members are seated inside Discovery's crew module, they perform voice checks with the launch team in the Launch Control Center here at Kennedy, as well as Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

6:24 p.m. - Weather update: The latest forecast eliminates the chance of rain showers, but low cloud ceilings continues to pose a concern. The countdown is going very well otherwise, and the launch team will press on in hopes that the weather will improve as we approach the 9:35 launch time.

6:19 p.m. - Pilot William Oefelein is the next to enter the orbiter. He will be followed by Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency.