Decent weather expected for Tuesday shuttle launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) – The weather is looking good for Tuesday’s launch of space shuttle Discovery.

Forecasters put the odds of acceptable conditions at 70 percent. Launch time is 1:36 a.m. (0536 GMT).

Discovery and a crew of seven will deliver more than 15,000 pounds (6,800 kilograms) of supplies and equipment to the international space station.

NASA test director Steve Payne said everything is on track for the countdown to begin late Friday night. The only outstanding issue is a shuttle power controller that had to be replaced, but Payne said so far, all the testing looks good.

NASA has until Aug. 30 to launch Discovery, otherwise the shuttle will have to get in line behind a Japanese cargo ship and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that are set to fly in September.