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Issued: 0930hrs Tuesday 12th July 2005
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Shuttle returns to flight - will the weather spoil the party?

There's excitement around NASA at the moment due to the prospect of a return to flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Reports from NASA say that all is going well and the shuttle is ready to launch during it's window between 2045 and 2051 BST on Wednesday 13th July.

However, mother nature may yet play it's part in the Shuttles big day. A tropical storm, now names Tropical Storm Emily is forecast to be tracking close to Florida over the coming days, turning into a hurricane.

However, I believe that the Shuttles launch will not be interrupted by Emily, and she should stay to the south of the Kennedy Space Centre long enough to allow for a good launch.

I'll be monitoring develops in the States and will keep you updated with any cahnges to Emily's path.
Simon