Oct 1, 2002 By Marcia Dunn Ap Aerospace Writer 2 min read

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – NASA’s countdown clocks began ticking for the first time in four months as the space agency readied shuttle Atlantis for liftoff Wednesday on a mission to add another girder to the international space station. The countdown started Sunday night but was not announced until Monday, in keeping with the agency’s anti-terrorism measures. NASA was also keeping the mid- to late-afternoon launch time a secret until 24 hours in advance.

The space shuttle fleet was grounded all summer because of cracked fuel lines.

Florida showers and Hurricane Lili threatened to delay Atlantis’ flight, already more than a month late because of the fuel-line repairs.

Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said there was a 40 percent chance that coastal showers could interfere. Gusty wind from Hurricane Lili should be well to the west by then, but NASA is concerned that the storm will head into the head into the Gulf of Mexico later this week and aim for Houston, home to Mission Control.

If that happens, NASA will probably put off the launch until the storm passes, spokesman James Hartsfield said.

As for the space station, Russia’s Mission Control could take over all monitoring if Houston’s flight controllers had to be evacuated.

Atlantis will deliver a 45-foot-long, 15-foot-wide girder to the space station. The structure contains 15 miles of wiring, 426 feet of stainless steel tubes for ammonia coolant, three radiators and a rail cart for spacewalking astronauts.

The aluminum girder – which weighs in at more than 28,700 pounds – cost $390 million.

Two of Atlantis’ astronauts will take three spacewalks to hook up the structure.

Atlantis’ six crew members will be the first visitors for the one American and two Russians who have been living aboard the space station since June.

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