Tokyo, July 12: After three failed attempts to launch Endeavour and already a month behind schedule, lightening strikes NASA launch complex, postponing take-off until Sunday.
The launch of space shuttle Endeavour was postponed until Sunday evening so engineers could evaluate the spacecraft following 11 lightning strikes to the Launch Complex 39A area.
NASA confirms none of the strikes hit the shuttle or its external tank or solid rocket boosters, but there were strikes to the lightning mast and water tower.
The launch pad is equipped with a lightning protection system, intended to guide bolts away from the shuttle.
“We need to be 100 percent confident that we have a good system across the board,” said Mike Moses, chairman of the pre-launch Mission Management Team.
The new launch time is for Sunday at 15:13 EDT (23:13 GMT). The weather forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions.
The mission is scheduled to carry out 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.
—–Agencies