Countdown Starts for Satellite Test
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA began the countdown Tuesday for a shuttle mission that will test an Italian satellite linked to Atlantis by 12 miles of electricity-generating cord.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration test director Eric Redding said the weather outlook for liftoff Friday was good. Forecasters expect a 90% chance of acceptable launch conditions.
The seven-member crew of Atlantis is to unreel the Tethered Satellite from the shuttle midway through the seven-day flight. The spherical satellite, supplied by the Italian Space Agency, is five feet in diameter and weighs 1,140 pounds.
For 30 hours, the satellite will fly above Atlantis, connected by a 12-mile copper and fiber cord. U.S. and Italian researchers want to see how a tethered satellite can be controlled in space and how well the system produces electricity.
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