NASA COMMENTATOR GEORGE DILLER: From Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida,
this is Shuttle Launch Control at T-minus three hours and holding.
The countdown clock came out of a planned two-hour built-in hold at T-minus six hours at 5:03 p.m.
The loading of the 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen began a minute later.
Fueling concluded at 8:05 and the seven-member Final Inspection Team was then dispatched to the launch pad.
They are scheduled to be there approximately two-and-one-half hours. Activities
under way during the past hour have been the inertial measurement unit preflight calibration,
the alignment of the MILA tracking station antennas with the launch pad, activating
the orbiter's navigation aids, which has just been completed a few moments ago,
and the initial signal checks with the Air Force Range Safety Eastern Range.
The Final Inspection Team has been measuring the temperatures on the surface of the vehicle,
looking for any ice buildup, and performing a final check for any foreign object
debris that could strike the orbiter upon ignition.
The seven-member team will have walked up and down the entire 380-foot tower
of the fixed service structure at the conclusion of their inspections.
At T-minus three hours and holding, this is Shuttle Launch Control.