[GioFX]

1231 GMT (8:31 a.m. EDT)

T-minus 3 hours and holding. The count has just gone into a planned 3-hour built-in hold.

Weather conditions are currently "no go" due to showers coming ashore from the Atlantic Ocean, violating the anvil and lightning rules. "And so it begins," NASA spokesman George Diller says. The outlook for the 3:26 p.m. EDT launch time calls for a 70 percent chance of "no go" weather.

1229 GMT (8:29 a.m. EDT)

The Orbiter Closeout Crew and the Final Inspection Team have been cleared for travels to pad 39B to begin their launch morning jobs. The closeout crew will be readying the Discovery's cockpit for astronaut boarding later today; the inspection team will be examining the exterior of the shuttle vehicle for ice now that fueling is finished.

1224 GMT (8:24 a.m. EDT)

Liquid oxygen has gone into stable replenishment, joining liquid hydrogen that entered this mode a little while ago. So filling of Discovery's external has been completed.

1205 GMT (8:05 a.m. EDT)

The liquid hydrogen fuel tank has been filled up and the liquid oxygen is nearing completion of the fast-fill mode for today's launch opportunity of Discovery.

The launch weather team reports an area of showers is approaching the Cape and rain is expected at pad 39B in about 45 minutes.

1130 GMT (7:30 a.m. EDT)

Good morning from a cloudy Kennedy Space Center where fueling of space shuttle Discovery's external tank is still going smoothly. The three-hour tank filling process is about two-thirds complete now, and no troubles have been reported thus far.

The countdown is marching toward a launch at 3:26 p.m. EDT today. However, the weather forecast is not good. Meteorologists are saying there is a 70 percent chance that thunderstorms and anvil clouds will break the launch rules this afternoon.

The outlook is 60 percent "no go" for Monday and 40 percent "no go" on Tuesday.

If the weather forces another scrub today, the Mission Management Team would meet to decide whether to make a rare third consecutive launch attempt or give everyone a day to rest and try again Tuesday.

If Discovery is not off the ground by Wednesday, the onboard fuel cell hydrogen reactant supply used to generate electricity in space would need to be replenished, requiring a further delay.

1009 GMT (6:09 a.m. EDT)

Both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fueling operations have progressed through the chilldown thermal conditioning and into the slow-fill mode. Once each tank is loaded slightly, the pumping rate increases to the fast-fill mode.

And the engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors in both tanks are working normally this morning.

We'll resume our live updates from Kennedy Space Center around 7:30 a.m.

0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. EDT)

Re-fueling of space shuttle Discovery with the half-million gallons of cryogenic rocket propellants began at 5:28 a.m. EDT this morning. It will take three hours to fill the ship's external fuel tank.

The weather forecast for today's planned 3:26 p.m. EDT launch indicates only a 30 percent chance of acceptable conditions. Forecasters are giving the bleak outlook due to the expected development of thunderstorms across Florida during the day.

No technical problems are being reported in the countdown and activities are proceeding for this second attempt to launch Discovery on mission STS-121.