NASA announced yesterday they plan to leave their big bird right where it is and will continue preparations to lift on Wednesday, July 13th. The astronauts arrived bright and early on Saturday morning as the day edges ever closer.

At this point, Dennis was the last major obstacle to overcome for the STS-114. The hurricane sacked Cuba and Haiti and NASA watched intently as the storm took aim at somewhere along the Gulf Coast. While Kennedy Space Center is on the Atlantic side, winds still posed a threat since the shuttle, upright, is only designed to handle 80 mph winds.

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.

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.

The primary mission for the Discovery will be twofold. The first part will consist of testing and evaluation of the new safety procedures, including inspection and repair techniques. The inspection will include photographing pretty much the entire ship looking for possible damage points similar to what doomed Columbia. The other part of the mission will be carrying supplies to the International Space Station. The shuttle will deliver equipment, foodstuff and other items and haul away trash and other old equipment. The Russian Soyuz rockets have picked up the slack since the Columbia disaster back in February of 2003.

This trip will be number 31 for the Space Shuttle Discovery, first flown into space back in 1984. The oldest shuttle in the fleet will carry mission commander Eileen Collins with her crew of six other astronauts, including a member of the Japanese Space Agency.

John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.