It looks like a July 4 launch for the space shuttle, after a second day of rain delays.

Flight controllers for the second day in a row Sunday scrubbed the launch of space shuttle Discovery, poised for liftoff beneath murky gray skies as lightning crackled and thunderstorms rumbled. NASA officials said they will try again Tuesday.

"We have scrubbed for the day," shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach told mission control at 1:14 p.m., only a few minutes after mission Commander Steven Lindsey and Discovery's six other crew members had been strapped into their seats. Launch had been scheduled for 3:26 p.m.

Leinbach said he and flight director Steve Stich conferred about noon Sunday after a clearing trend in the weather suddenly reversed, and decided two hours early to scrub the mission to provide extra time for refueling, a difficult and painstaking process. A full load of hydrogen should give the shuttle enough electricity to add a day to its 12-day mission.

Leinbach said the team will attempt to launch Tuesday, at 2:38 p.m., and Wednesday, if necessary. Bad weather is predicted for Monday, but some improvement is expected Tuesday. At no time Sunday were launch chances rated any better than 30 percent.

Should Tuesday bring a successful launch, it will mark the first time in the shuttle's 25-year history that the craft -- in effect an enormous rocket -- launched on Independence Day. John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, called it "a great gift NASA can give to the nation."

Good luck, Discovery -- Houston is waiting for you.

Posted by: Greg at 03:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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