Jul 11, 2009 12:30 pm US/Pacific
Lightning To Blame For Endeavour Launch Delay
NASA Postpones Space Shuttle's Launch To Sunday
CAPE CANVERAL, Fla. (CBS) ―
-
-
The Space Shuttle Endeavour sits on launch pad 39A after the Rotating Service Structure was rolled back at Kennedy Space Center as it is prepared for a launch to the International Space Station on June 12, 2009, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images
NASA has scrubbed Saturday evening's planned launch of space shuttle Endeavour after multiple lightning strikes hit near the launch pad. NASA officials said they found no initial damage, but will need another day to check critical systems aboard the orbiter.
The launch had been planned for 7:39 p.m. Saturday night, but will now be attempted at 7:13 p.m. on Sunday, reports CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami.
Enedavour will be delivering and installing the final piece of Japan's $1 billion space station lab named Kibo. The first two parts of Japan's station were launched last year.
Endeavour was originally scheduled to launch in mid-June, but was grounded due to potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. Repairs to the external fuel tank solved the problem.
The window for NASA to launch Endeavour runs through Wednesday, but if it doesn't launch by then, the flight would likely be delayed until late July.
Mike Moses, chairman of that team, said there were 11 lightning strikes within three-tenths of a mile of the pad, although none of them struck the shuttle, external tank or the two solid rocket boosters.
At the pad, the shuttle has an elaborate lightning protection system with sensors and wires to direct lightning away from the shuttle and its rockets.
"The lightning protection system did its job," he said.
Moses said the assessment can be done in 24 hours, but there could be another delay if it isn't finished. A complete retest of the system could take two weeks.
Sunday's weather is expected to slightly better, with conditions 60 percent favorable for launch. The main concern will be thunderstorms.
Endeavour should have blasted off to the international space station in mid-June, but was grounded by potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas. Repairs to a misaligned plate on the external fuel tank, which hooks up with a hydrogen vent line, solved the problem.
The shuttle and its crew are set to deliver and install the third and final piece of Japan's $1 billion space station lab, named Kibo — Japanese for hope. The first two sections flew up last year.
Seven shuttle astronauts plus six station residents will make for the biggest crowd ever in orbit.
Five spacewalks are planned during the 16-day flight.
NASA has until Tuesday or possibly Wednesday to send up Endeavour before making way for the launch of an unmanned Russian supply ship.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Celebrities With Swine Flu
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
