Space ShuttleTen hours before the scheduled launch, Nasa officials will gather to assess the latest weather forecasts before making the decision to fill Atlantis's external fuel tanks. Technically, the team could count down to T-9 minutes before aborting, if required.Despite the potential hiccups, the STS-135 mission is technically sound and the four-person crew of Atlantis and associated ground staff are preparing to launch on time until a formal decision is made to postpone.At the weather briefing, Nasa's test director, Jeff Spaulding, said: "Our teams here and really all around the world have been working extremely hard for quite awhile on this particular mission to make sure the vehicle and the payload are ready for hopefully a magnificent launch on Friday." -- guardian.co.uk Guardian News and Media 201.
The shuttles have launched many "firsts" into space. Physicist Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. At age 32, she also holds the record for the youngest astronaut. That same year, Air Force Col. Guion Bluford Jr. became the first African-American in space. In 1983, Ulf Merbold, from West Germany, became the first non-American to fly on the shuttle. The first member of royalty and the first Muslim in space was Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1985. Medical doctor Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman in space in 1992. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sergei Krikalev became the first Russian to fly on a space shuttle in 1994. Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the shuttle in 1995, and four years later she was the first to command a mission.
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