Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch Set for Wednesday

NASA has now rescheduled the launch of the Endeavour space shuttle for 5:40am ET on Wednesday.  NASA also pushed back the launch of a separate lunar mission that was previously scheduled for that day.

The shuttle was originally set to launch this past Saturday, but a hydrogen leak forced the launch to be delayed.

The leak was detected while Endeavour was being fueled on Saturday morning, and was located in the hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank.  This system is used primarily to transport excess hydrogen safely away from the launch area.

The seal around the system has now been replaced.

The launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, which was also to take place on Wednesday, has been delayed until at least Thursday.  It will more likely happen on Friday as NASA has said that Thursday would be too tight given the shuttle launch a day beforehand.

Endeavour, carrying 7 astronauts and a key piece of equipment for Japan's Kibo science laboratory, will be traveling to the international space station for a 16-day mission.

Five spacewalks are planned once the shuttle docks.

Related Items:

America In Space: NASA's First Fifty Years

Space Shuttle Mission STS-67 press kit March 1995 (SuDoc NAS 1.15:110509)

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