This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. EDT.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA
abandoned plans to launch the space shuttle Endeavour for the fourth time in a
row on Sunday, this time because of stormy weather that crept too close to an
emergency runway.
Endeavour was
slated to blast off from a seaside launch pad here at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center at 7:13 p.m. EDT (2313 GMT) after a string of setbacks that have delayed
the shuttle's beleaguered mission by a month.
It was NASA's second attempt in two
days - and fourth
try overall - to fly Endeavour after standing down
on Saturday due to concerns over potential damage from recent lightning strikes
near its launch pad. Endeavour is now slated to launch its crew
of seven astronauts to the International Space Station Monday at 6:51 p.m.
EDT (2251 GMT), with a 40 percent chance of good weather expected.
Although the weather was not a
constraint for Endeavour's actual liftoff, thunderstorms were too close to the Shuttle
Landing Facility here, which must remain a viable option in case of a
last-minute emergency that forces the shuttle to abort its mission in
mid-flight.
That scenario, known as a Return to Launch Site Abort, has never occurred
in the 28 years NASA has flown shuttle missions. But a storm cell appeared
within 20 miles of the landing site, breaking the flight safety requirement and
forcing mission managers to call off today's launch attempt.
"We're going to have to declare
a scrub today and try to bring the team back for another attempt for
tomorrow," NASA launch director Pete Nickolenko
told Endeavour's crew.
"Copy
that, we understand and we'll be ready," shuttle commander Mark Polansky replied.
The weather outlook
appears to be declining for the coming days, with dwindling prospects of good
weather before July 14, Endeavour's last launch opportunity before it must
stand down until July 27.
"It's going to get
worse and worse each day," launch weather forecaster Scott McCormick told SPACE.com.
NASA cleared the shuttle to fly this
morning after a thorough analysis found no damage incurred by Friday's
lightning storm. But Florida's erratic weather cropped up to put a damper on
launch hopes again today less than an hour before launch, when the astronauts
had already been aboard the orbiter for more than two hours.
"The
team's in really good shape and the crew is in good shape," Endeavour's
mission management chair Mike Moses said. "It's just not our day for the
weather."
Earlier in June, a gas leak delayed
two attempts to launch the shuttle, but that issue has since been repaired.
Endeavour's STS-127 mission is a 16-day
marathon of orbital construction bound or the International Space Station.
The shuttle is carrying vital spare parts and a Japanese-built
porch for the outpost's massive Kibo laboratory. The spaceflight will also
ferry rookie NASA astronaut Tim Kopra to the station to replace Japanese
astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has lived aboard the orbiting lab since late
March. Wakata is Japan's first long-duration resident of the station, where he
has watched over his country's $1 billion Kibo laboratory.
Set to ride into orbit aboard
Endeavour with Polansky and Kopra are STS-127 pilot
Doug Hurley and mission specialists Chris Cassidy, Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn
and Dave Wolf. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency, while the rest are
NASA astronauts. Five spacewalks are planned.
Kopra is beginning a long-duration
mission to the space station as a flight engineer on the outpost's six-man
Expedition 20 crew. He will join two Russians, another American and astronauts
from Belgium and Canada on what is the station's first full six-person crew.
NASA has until July 14 to launch the
shuttle before standing down to allow avoid a traffic conflict with an unmanned
Russian cargo ship also due at the space station this month. If the mission is
unable to launch by then, NASA can try again on July 27.
SPACE.com is providing continuous
coverage of STS-127 with reporter Clara Moskowitz at Cape Canaveral and senior
editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission
updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed. Live launch coverage will
begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).
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