From astronauts practicing shuttle landings to engineers and technicians running tests on space shuttle Atlantis, NASA's Kennedy Space Center is excitedly preparing for its fourth shuttle launch in 2007. The shuttle is scheduled to lift off at 4:31 p.m. EST on Thursday to begin mission STS-122.

"Things are going extremely well," Launch Director Doug Lyons said. "The launch team is executing the count in fine fashion. It's been a very, very smooth, clean count, which is how we like it."

NASA's Mission Management Team conducted its regular evaluation two days before launch and voted unanimously to continue the countdown.

"(It was) a very good day for us," MMT Chairman Leroy Cain said.

Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen were to be pumped into spherical tanks inside Atlantis Tuesday night. They will power the shuttle's fuel cells during flight. A number of tests are continuing on critical systems. The Rotating Service Structure which protects the shuttle and its payload will be moved from around Atlantis Wednesday night.

The weather outlook is also looking good, according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. The forecast calls for a 90 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

"The weather looks really good for Thursday," Winters said.

Atlantis commander Steve Frick and pilot Alan Poindexter took turns flying simulated landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft. The heavily modified Gulfstream II business jet mimics an orbiter gliding back to Earth.

The crew of seven astronauts will install the Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. The 23-foot-long cylinder is the European Space Agency's primary contribution to the space research facility. The lab is to operate at the station for at least 10 years.

"We like to think that now we're at the end of the beginning," said Alan Thirkettle, ESA's International Space Station manager.

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