Team Atlantis

Atlantis: Scott Pelley, Shepard Smith, Anderson Cooper to anchor from Kennedy Space Center

ABC, Anderson Cooper, Brian Williams, CBS, CBS Evening News, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NBC, Scott Pelley
posted by halboedeker on July, 7 2011 -- 6:56 PM


Atlantis on the launch pad Tuesday. Photo credit: Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel
The weather may keep Atlantis, the final shuttle to go into space, from launching Friday.

The shuttle is scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. Bad weather could push the launch to 11:02 a.m. Saturday or 10:38 a.m. Sunday.

But the broadcast networks and cable news channels have big plans for Friday. They will carry the launch live as well as salute the milestone in space history:

CBS is sending Scott Pelley to anchor the “CBS Evening News” from Kennedy Space Center. The broadcast airs at 6:30. During the broadcast, CBS look back at its coverage of NASA – you can expect classic clips of Walter Cronkite. Pelley also will be interviewed on the noon news of CBS affiliate WKMG-Channel 6.

Shepard Smith, an alum of the Orlando TV market, will anchor Fox News Channel’s coverage from 11 a.m. to noon. He will be at Kennedy Space Center and go behind the scenes to explain launch preparations. Former astronauts Gene Cernan and Tom Jones will discuss the launch, and correspondent Steve Harrigan will provide live reports.

Anderson Cooper will lead CNN’s coverage from Cape Canaveral from 10 a.m. to noon. Sharing their insights will be former astronauts Cady Coleman and Sen. Bill Nelson, and historian Douglas Brinkley.

NBC will offer a special report on the network. Brian Williams will anchor from New York and Jay Barbree will report the launch from Cape Canaveral.

ABC’s Matt Gutman will report live from Cape Canaveral.

Tamron Hall and Tom Costello will lead MSNBC’s coverage from Cape Canaveral.

---

How does NASA come up with these times:

Friday at 11:26 -- why not 11:25?
Saturday at 11:02 -- why not 11:00?
Sunday at 10:38 -- why not at 10:35?

Oh well, I suppose they know what they are doing...