May 18, 2013
A Local 8 Weather Alert has been issued for today. Because of the threat of rain, thunder and even hail, outdoor activities may be disrupted or inconvenienced. What's going on? An upper-level low will be moving across East Tennessee today, creating a more unstable atmosphere.
Weather couldn't have been better for something we haven't seen in four years, a night time space shuttle launch.
The pilot is none other than UT Space Institute Class of 1998 Graduate Bill Oefelein.
It's his first shuttle flight.
Four other crew members are rookies too.
Discovery's on its way to the international space station to do some re-wiring.
It'll spend 12 days, drop off about 11 million dollars worth of materials and hardware and bring three astronauts home.
Commander Oefelein got his masters at UT's Space Institute. He's a navy topgun pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying time, on more than 50 aircraft, including top gun training.
