NASA delays launch of shuttle Endeavour to Sunday
2009-07-11 16:50:46 GMT2009-07-12 00:50:46 (Beijing Time)
Xinhua English
The space shuttle Endeavour on Pad 39A with the countdown clock in foreground at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A dramatic lightning storm forced NASA to delay the space shuttle Endeavour's scheduled launch on Saturday by at least a day, the latest blow to the seven-astronaut mission. (AFP Photo)
Lightning strikes near the space shuttle Endeavour resting atop launch pad 39A during thunderstorms at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 10, 2009. (Reuters Photo)
A sign near the space shuttle Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA officials are hoping that the third time is the charm for the space shuttle Endeavour, which is due to launch Saturday on a mission to the International Space Station. (AFP Photo)
Lightning strikes near the space shuttle Endeavour resting atop launch pad 39A during thunderstorms at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 10, 2009. (Reuters Photo)
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- NASA has decided to postpone the scheduled Saturday launch of space shuttle Endeavour until Sunday due to lightning strikes, the U.S. space agency said.
The next launch attempt will be at 7:13 p.m. (2313 GMT) Sunday, according to NASA.
Endeavour should have blasted off to the international space station in mid-June, but was postponed by potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas.
Endeavour's 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
