The tanking test for the space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tanks began Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch team will fill the shuttle's external tank with about 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and then drain the tank, the space agency said on its Web site. The activity supports plans to transport Atlantis' payload to Launch Pad 39A Thursday evening.
The tank testing was delayed first by storms and then by a power substation going offline. Engineers assessed three lightning strikes within a quarter mile of Launch Pad 39A during Tuesday's storms, but preliminary data indicated no damage to either Atlantis or the pad. Engineers are reviewing data to confirm that assessment.
Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on the final flight of the shuttle program -- a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis will have a four-person crew: Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
The launch is scheduled for July 8.
Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station and its crew, NASA said.
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