The Space Shuttle Discovery is slated to lift off on July 13th, next Wednesday. Dennis may delay that launch though as the category 4 hurricane makes its run through Cuba. The shuttle has overcome many obstacles to get back into space but Mother Nature may yet play a part as this story continues to unfold.
As it stands, NASA will not roll the big bird back to the nest. Even though the storm isn’t expected to his the Atlantic Coast of Florida, NASA remains nervous because as storm winds hit 150 mph, Dennis does have a bit of reach. The shuttle can only deal with 80 mph winds atop the platform.
NASA says they still aim to lift off on the 13th. This remains the target date.
Last year, Kennedy Space Center took a beating as 3 of 4 hurricanes chose to assault the base last year causing damage to a lot of facilities including the big VAB, better known as the garage for the space shuttle. The astronauts are slated to show up on Saturday and countdown begins on Sunday. 
Discovery has faced a number of obstacles in its attempt to return to space after the tragic incineration of the Columbia as it descended back to earth. After a myriad of tests and rescheduling of the launch back in the spring, NASA plans to get the shuttle off the ground next week. They have window available until the end of the month. If it doesn’t happen then, it will be September before they could launch it again.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
