MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2005<br />1830 GMT (1:30 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 30 minutes and counting. The launch team is reporting winds of 24 knots. That is the upper limit allowed at launch time. <br /><br />1829 GMT (1:29 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 31 minutes and counting. Fueling of both stages with RP-1 fuel is proceeding. Both tanks are nearing half-full. <br /><br />1827 GMT (1:27 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 33 minutes and counting. Safety checks are being performed between the range and the rocket's flight termination system. Unlike other American-built rockets that use an explosive destruct system to destroy a vehicle that experiences a problem or veers off course during launch, SpaceX has designed Falcon with a "thrust termination system" that shuts down the main engine to end a flight. <br /><br />1822 GMT (1:22 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 38 minutes and counting. A round of checks between the rocket and the launch range is beginning. Crews are testing the link with the C-band beacon. This system is used to track the Falcon as it flies downrange. <br /><br />1820 GMT (1:20 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 40 minutes and counting. Falcon has been configured for loading the first stage with its supply of RP-1 kerosene. <br /><br />1815 GMT (1:15 p.m. EST)<br /><br />T-minus 45 minutes and counting. The "go" has been given to the launch team to begin pumping a highly refined kerosene fuel, called RP-1, into the Falcon rocket's second stage. The propellant will be consumed with the liquid oxygen loaded earlier today to power the stage's Kestrel engine. <br /><br />1806 GMT (1:06 p.m. EST)<br /><br />Gwynne Shotwell, the SpaceX vice president of business development, says everything is looking good for launch at 2 p.m. EST today. <br /><br />The rocket's second stage liquid oxygen tank has been loaded. The first stage tank is being filled now, with 82 percent aboard. <br /><br />Kerosene fueling of both stages is coming up. <br /><br />The Army-run range is experiencing a problem with one of th