NASA Again Pushes Back Shuttle Launch
Associated Press
Friday, December 14, 2007;
Page A25
CAPE CANAVERAL, Dec. 13 -- NASA on Thursday delayed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis to Jan. 10 to give workers time off for the holidays.
After back-to-back delays caused by fuel-gauge glitches, shuttle managers had been aiming for a liftoff no earlier than Jan. 2.
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Planned launches on Dec. 6 and 9 were scuttled after some of the hydrogen gauges in the shuttle's external fuel tank failed. The gauges are part of a backup safety system to keep the main engines from running on an empty tank.
A fueling test will be conducted Tuesday to determine whether the problem is in the gauges or in the 100 feet of circuitry between the tank and the shuttle. The launch date depends on how quickly the trouble can be resolved.
Atlantis and a seven-member crew will deliver the European science lab Columbus to the international space station.
At the space station, meanwhile, astronauts are preparing for a spacewalk Tuesday to inspect a jammed rotary joint needed to turn the starboard set of solar wings toward the sun.
