Adam Scott Actor

NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis launch is packaged for the agency's historic past of their spacecraft with wings tomorrow (July 8), but bad weather continues to threaten the upcoming release.

NASA hopes to raise awareness of Atlantis on its launch pad by the sea here at the Kennedy Space Center this afternoon at 11:26 am EDT expected tomorrow (1526 GMT) launch, but only if weather permits .

Kathy Winters, Launch of NASA's shuttle weather officer, told reporters that lightning and thunderstorms are the main threat. Only when NASA will clean retract the protective cover that covers and shields that Atlantis items.

The climate outlook for launch day remains bleak, Winters said. The odds, as they are now, are against NASA.

"I wish I had more time for you, but we have 70 percent of the time prohibiting launch," said in a press winters.

Currently, NASA has until Sunday (July 10) to try to launch Atlantis before the agency would have to retreat to avoid a conflict of space traffic with the launch of a rocket from the Air Force next week. The weather forecast for Saturday improved slightly, with the probability of acceptable weather at 60 percent. By Sunday, the odds drop to 40 percent, Winters said.

All cases

Space shuttle Atlantis launch four astronauts on a final flight for the NASA program shuttle's 30-year-old, who is closing this year. The 12-day mission will deliver a huge load of cargo to the International Space Station to help maintain the orbiting laboratory running after the shuttle fleet retires.

Joe Delai, head of NASA cargo to the mission of Atlantis, said the workers are the final packaging elements within the current ferry, before saying goodbye forever. Atlantis is carrying about 9,500 pounds of cargo packed away in the shuttle and into a huge cargo pod in the hold of the cargo ship 60 feet.

"This is not just a piece of metal," said the shuttle's cargo Delai. "It'sa way of life.'s What we do ... Yeah, it's emotional, but is also part of history."

Final astronaut crew of Atlantis has hidden some secret memories shuttle flight NASA's latest brand, but do not expect any surprises about the stowaway by Delai and his team.

"I could not get anything on this flight," said Delai.

Last shuttle flight for NASA

NASA is retiring the shuttle fleet to make way for a new program for the exploration of deep space. The space agency has a new wingless spacecraft, the capsule-based multi-purpose vehicle crew in development to take astronauts to an asteroid in 2025, a goal set by President Barack Obama.

The first flight of the capsule is still years away, however, and NASA hopes to rely on privately built spacecraft to transport U.S. astronauts to and from orbit once they are available. Until then, the space agency will continue to buy Russian Soyuz capsule positions.

Today, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden signed a commercial space to the private space flight company Sierra Nevada Corp., which is one of several competitors who compete to provide commercial launch services of the crew to the agency. The agreement allows NASA's Kennedy Space Center workforce to offer their experience to Sierra Nevada as the company develops its Dream Chaser space plane, a vehicle that NASA has the heritage.