Engineers worked in the shuttle Atlantis' cramped engine room Thursday to remove a faulty computer in a bid to keep the delayed ship on track for launch Tuesday, five days behind schedule.
But officials cautioned that a final launch decision will not be made until Saturday when engineers reassess the progress of work to swap the computer with a spare.If all goes well, Atlantis' five-member crew will fly back to the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for the start of the shuttle's abbreviated countdown Monday. Launch is tentatively set for 10:57 a.m. MDT Tuesday, with forecasters calling for favorable weather.
"They have estimated there is a 50-50 chance of completing the work in time to launch on Tuesday," NASA spokeswoman Sarah Keegan said Wednesday.
Anti-nuclear activists, meanwhile, said they would appeal a federal judge's decision to approve the launch of Atlantis and its payload, the plutonium-powered Galileo Jupiter probe, even though U.S. District Judge Oliver Gasch said his order could not be appealed.
Jeremy Rifkin, a lawyer for three groups protesting the flight, said Wednesday that "we've got enough case law" to appeal to a higher court.