 The countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on Mission STS-75 is continuing on schedule today. The window for launch of Columbia opens at 3.18 p.m. Eastern Time and extends for two and a half hours. Work at Launch Pad 39B as well as operations here in Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center continues as planned. No technical issues or problems are being worked or discussed at this time and we do anticipate an on-time liftoff of the Shuttle Columbia and the seven-member crew from the Kennedy Space Center. Everything continues to go well with the countdown. The crew is on schedule, exactly on schedule to be taking out to the pad. They'll be suited up in the next few moments after they complete their meal. The crew has just completed a briefing on the weather conditions here at Kennedy Space Center as well as at the various contingency landing sites. We do have live TV of our crew being suited up for flight today starting with Mission Commander Andy Allen. His pilot is Scott Horowitz who is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Doc Horowitz as he is referred to is on his first Shuttle mission. Standing on the left is Claude Nicolier. He is on his third flight today. He is a European Space Agency astronaut. Again he is standing next to and discussing the mission with payload specialist Umberto Guidoni of the Italian Space Agency. Jeff Hoffman doesn't have his helmet on yet. Easily identifiable with his broad smile. Jeff is on his fifth flight today. He's flown four times previously, holds a doctorate degree in astrophysics and has been working on the tethered satellite project for a number of years. Maurizio Kelly is an astronaut from the European Space Agency and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Italian Air Force. This is his first flight. Another one of our very veteran fliers is Franklin Chang Diaz. He has flown four times. This will be his fifth flight. He is the payload commander for this mission and the commander Andy Allen has emerged from the building, followed by his pilot Scott Horowitz and payload commander Franklin Chang Diaz, mission specialist Jeffrey Hoffman, mission specialist Claude Nicolier, Maurizio Kelly and payload specialist Umberto Guidoni. And a final test of the flight control services will soon be conducted. This is a program pattern of movements designed to verify the readiness for launch of the engines and other flight control surfaces. The final air surface checks of the orbiter's flaps and weather are being completed. This verifies the orbiter's hydraulic systems are up and running. And the three main engines are being gibbled before a final test before launch. Copy and flight through. You have a go to closing, launch your visors, initiate O2 flow. Godspeed, Columbia, on a truly international mission in space. We're done with that work and I'd like to thank you all very much. And with your request from my crew, Arriva D'Archi, OOI, Avida Zane and Adio. We'll see you in a couple weeks. And we have a go for auto sequence start. Columbia's onboard computers have primary control of all the vehicle's critical functions. T minus 20 seconds. T minus 15 seconds. T minus 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. We have a go for main engines. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And we have liftoff of the space shuttle Columbia continuing space research through tethered satellite technology. Roger, well done. Roger, well done, Columbia. Houston now controlling Columbia rolling on course for a 28.5 degree inclination orbit. Now 45% on the left. Roger, stand by. We're showing good operation. Columbia, we're showing good engines, good commands on all three. Okay, thank you much. Good call with that. All engines operating well on board Columbia, Columbia's engines now throttling down to two-thirds throttle to prepare the spacecraft to pass through the area of maximum air pressure. And a go supersonic. Booster officer confirms a good separation of the twin solid rockets. Columbia now on its second stage main engines, three main engines again operating well at full throttle. Columbia, performance nominal. Six minutes till cutoff of the main engines. Columbia's altitude now 33 nautical miles. Columbia's speed now 6,200 miles per hour. Columbia's trajectory will level off at this point as it accelerates to the east almost tripling its current speed to reach the 17,400 miles per hour required for orbit. And we're just now receiving live television from Columbia as it passes almost directly overhead the Houston area. This television through the Merritt Island tracking station located near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board, all activities continue to go smoothly for the crew. They've opened the payload bay doors in just about 10 minutes ago or so. They were given a go for orbit operations. That go, the indication that they can be prepared to stay in orbit for an extended period of time. Currently on track for their 14 day flight. Columbia, Houston. Yeah, Andy, just giving you a heads up that you have a go to configure for vernieres and then you can go to vernieres early to help save some prop. We are standing by to receive live television of the astronauts and the operations and checkout building at Kennedy Space Center as they are seated for their breakfast. And here we have live TV of the crew. The crew are divided into three shifts for this mission. So for this last meal before launch, they are eating either breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on what sleep cycle they are on. This has been set up to accommodate the round the clock operations of the various experiment packages on board the shuttle. Maurizio Kelly is from the European Space Agency. He'll be making his first trip into space today and to the right is a veteran space flyer, Franklin Chang Diaz, making his fifth flight into space today. Scott Horowitz or Doc Horowitz is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. He's preparing for his first flight and Commander Andy Allen, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps is preparing for his third flight into space today. Mission Specialist Jeffrey Hoffman also a very experienced space flyer preparing for his fifth flight into space today. And rounding out the seven member crew is on the left. We have Claude Nicolier who is making his third flight into space as well as Umberto Guidoni who is preparing for his first flight. Everything continues to go well with the countdown. The crew is on schedule, exactly on schedule to be taking out to the pad. They'll be suited up in the next few moments after they complete their meal. After suit up, of course, they will then walk out to the pad or out to the astro van which will carry them out to the pad. That departure for the pad remains on schedule for just a few minutes before 12 noon eastern time today. Tanking operations went without incident today and all when it's planned no problems with the tanking were reported. Today's launch will be Columbia's 19th flight and the 75th shuttle flight overall in NASA's space shuttle program. This is shuttle launch control at T-minus three hours and holding and we do have live TV of our crew being suited up for flight today. Starting with mission commander Andy Allen who is on his third space flight today served as pilot for both STS-62 and 46, the first flight of the tether satellite. He is a major in the Marine Corps and has more than 4,000 hours of flight time in over 30 types of aircraft. Commander Allen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He's a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. His pilot is Scott Horowitz who is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Doc Horowitz as he is referred to is on his first shuttle mission. Again he is in the Air Force, holds a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering. Moving on around the room we have two of our, well we have our payload specialist who is Umberto Guidoni who is with the Italian Space Agency. Umberto is an Italian Space Agency astronaut and a researcher for the Italian Space Physics Institute. He is standing, well he was standing, next to one of our other payload specialists. Suit up technicians are assisting the crew in getting their suits on of course when they have their helmets on with the dark visors impossible to tell who they are. In this case Jeff Hoffman doesn't have his helmet on yet easily identifiable with his broad smile. He was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Skarsdale, New York. Jeff is on his fifth flight today. He's flown four times previously, holds a doctorate degree in astrophysics and has been working on the tethered satellite project for a number of years. Maurizio Kelly is an astronaut from the European Space Agency and a lieutenant colonel in the Italian Air Force. This is his first flight. He has flown over 2,200 hours and more than 45 types of aircraft. These suits are capable of being partially inflated to provide added comfort and protection during launch and landing operations of the space shuttle. Another one of our very veteran flyers is Franklin Chang Diaz. He has flown five times or excuse me he has flown four times. This will be his fifth flight. He is the payload commander for this mission. He holds a doctorate degree in applied plasma physics and is director of the advanced space propulsion laboratory at the University of Houston, Texas. Standing on the left is Claude Nicolier. He is on his third flight today. He is a European Space Agency astronaut who has flown on both STS-61 and STS-46. He is a captain in the Swiss Air Force and holds a master's degree in astrophysics. Again he is standing next to and discussing the mission with payload specialist Umberto Guidoni of the Italian Space Agency. This is shuttle launch control at T-minus three hours and holding and we do have live television of our flight crew on the third floor of the operations checkout building just departing their suit up room and making their way toward the elevator which will take them to the base of the room. There is a wide range of interest on this mission and it's international crew. Workers at Kennedy Space Center of course are all anxious to see this one go on time today. All events and today's launch countdown continue to proceed without any problems. We're standing by for the crew to exit their crew quarters, exit the operations and checkout building in KSC's industrial area. They will be entering this astronaut van which will then take them on their 25-minute drive out to launch pad 39B on the eastern coast of Florida and Brevard County. And the commander Andy Allen has emerged from the building followed by his pilots Scott Horowitz and payload commander Franklin Chang Diaz, mission specialist Jeffrey Hoffman, mission specialist Claude McCoy-A, Mauricio Cale and payload specialist Humberto Guidone. Arriving along with the crew and the astronaut van are members of the flight crew office and other astronauts who will be performing weather assessment functions for the launch today. Astronaut Robert Hoot Gibson will be piloting the shuttle training aircraft which will be used for weather reconnaissance prior to and during today's launch. Frequently we have support from the Air Force or from NASA helicopters and from pilots who also track the crew's progress out to the pad. And we have a view of the flight crew at the 195 foot level at pad 39B as they are making their final preparations to enter the orbiter Columbia. The crew for this mission have been at Kennedy Space Center since Monday afternoon. During their stay here they have been through the standard pre-launch activities including flying the shuttle training aircraft, going over pad procedures and taking part in orbiter and payload status briefings. Currently standing in the white room as it is called because of obvious whiteness of the paint we have the commander of this flight Andy Allen, he is the commander for this mission. We have a good view of the two veteran flyers Jeff Hoffman and Franklin Chang Diaz on the right. Both are preparing to make their fifth flight into space today. Franklin Chang Diaz holding up a sign to his wife Peggy and his four children Jean, Sonia, Lydia and Miranda as he prepares to enter the space shuttle Columbia for his fifth excursion into space aboard the space shuttle.