A round of thunderstorms and severe weather grounded the space shuttle Endeavour last evening. The shuttle was scheduled for launch last night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but severe weather scrapped the launch. It has been rescheduled for this evening at 6:51 p.m. EST.
The delay was the second in as many days for the shuttle.
On Sunday, lightning and cumulus clouds violated guidelines in case of an emergency landing and sent astronauts back to their quarters for the night. Cumulus clouds are tied to volatile weather such as lightning and tornadoes.
“We had some colliding sea breezes,” launch director Pete Nickolenko radioed to the Endeavour crew. “We’re going to have to declare a scrub for today and try to bring the team back for another attempt tomorrow.”
But while the launch is scheduled for this evening, the weather may not cooperate this evening. Weather forecasts for the area indicate a 70 percent chance of storms this evening.
On Friday, 11 lightning strikes hit within a half-mile of the launch pad, scratching Saturday’s launch.
Endeavour, carrying seven astronauts and a key component for Japan’s Kibo science laboratory, is to head to the International Space Station for a 16-day mission.
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Five spacewalks are planned for the crew after the shuttle docks.
The Kibo science lab, also called the Japanese Experiment Module, is Japan’s first human space facility, and has been more than 20 years in the making.
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