NATION : Columbia Set for Tuesday Blastoff
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The rebuilt shuttle Columbia, making its first flight since the Challenger disaster, got a “green light” today to blast off Tuesday on a cloak-and-dagger military flight to put a spy satellite in orbit.
Air Force meteorologists predicted Florida’s temperamental weather will cooperate for the blacked-out mission, the veteran shuttle’s second flight in six years and the fifth flight since the 1986 loss of Challenger.
Virtually rebuilt since the shuttle disaster, Columbia, carrying a crew of five and a top-secret military satellite, is scheduled to take off sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. PDT. The exact launch time is classified, but sources said liftoff is planned for 7:57 a.m.
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