Washington - The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to
launch Wednesday after a hydrogen leak in its fuel tank postponed its
planned takeoff over the weekend, NASA said Monday.
The new date was set after a meeting in which NASA officials had
to balance the needs of the Endeavour launch with the firing of an
Atlas V rocket carrying two moon-bound satellites that was to have
taken place Wednesday.
Instead, Endeavour is scheduled to blast off at 5:40 am (0940 GMT)
Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCOSS) will now launch on Thursday
evening, with the first opportunity at 5:12 pm (2112 GMT). The dual
mission is the first step in putting humans back on the moon in
NASA's next phase after the ageing shuttles are retired in 2010.
NASA postponed the Endeavour lift-off Saturday after it discovered
that hydrogen was leaking from a vent line and had to empty the fuel
tank containing liquid hydrogen and oxygen. The problem was similar
to one in March that delayed the launch of the Discovery shuttle.
Endeavour is to carry seven astronauts on a 16-day mission to work
on the assembly of the International Space Station's Japanese Kibo
module. The crew is to install a porch for experiments outside the
space station, bring spare equipment and conduct other repairs during
five planned spacewalks.
In the leak in March, NASA replaced a fuel venting valve and
Discovery was able to launch after a delay.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story