CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Shuttle Discovery's orbiting astronauts were all suited up for a return trip home Monday, but bad weather on both U.S. coasts left the crew with nowhere to go.

Low clouds hang over the dry lakebed of Edwards Air Force Base as rain approaches on Monday. One of NASA's two 747 shuttle carrier jets is in the foreground at the Dryden Flight Research Facility.

For a second consecutive day, potentially dangerous winds at Kennedy Space Center foiled two chances for a homecoming at the shuttle's Florida homeport.

What's more, rain showers around a back-up landing site forced NASA to forgo a pair of opportunities to divert the crew to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

So the seven astronauts -- who spent a long day waiting out the weather -- will spend another night lapping the planet in advance of a quartet of landing opportunities Tuesday.

"We've asked a whole lot of your great crew today, and you came through with another fine performance," astronaut Dom Gorie told shuttle skipper Brian Duffy from NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston. "And we're just going to have to ask you do that again tomorrow."

NASA now will attempt to bring the shuttle crew back to KSC during landing opportunities at 1:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (17:52 GMT) Tuesday and 3:28 p.m. EDT (19:28 GMT) that day.

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The forecast for central Florida, however, once again calls for stiff winds at KSC.

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NASA flight rules call for a daytime shuttle landing attempt to be called off if runway crosswinds top 15 knots -- conditions that could make it difficult if not dangerous to set a shuttle down on a runway surrounded by Florida wetlands.

Steady winds of 15 knots with gusts to 25 knots were recorded at KSC Monday, and conditions might get even worse Tuesday.

The official forecast "shows not much improvement over (Monday) -- actually perhaps even stronger winds," said NASA flight commentator James Hartsfield.

NASA prefers to land shuttles at KSC because it costs about $1 million and takes about seven days to ferry an orbiter from California back to Florida atop a modified 747 jumbo jet.

But it appears as if NASA might be forced Tuesday to opt for one of two landing opportunities at Edwards, which is located about 85 miles (136 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

The rain showers that thwarted plans to land there Monday are expected to clear the area in time for opportunities at 4:59 p.m. EDT (20:59 GMT) and 6:35 p.m. EDT (22:35 GMT).

"The forecast for Edwards does call for significant improvement there, with good conditions for a shuttle landing," Hartsfield said.

Meteorologists, however, "will be refining the forecast and watching conditions at both sites, both coasts, throughout the night," he added.

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Discovery's International Space Station construction crew originally was scheduled to land at KSC Sunday but gusty runway crosswinds dashed those plans.

Landing support teams were scrambled to Edwards in a bid to get the crew back on the ground Monday, but rainstorms crept into the area 30 minutes before the astronauts were to start a trip back to California.

NASA flight rules prohibit a return to Earth if rain is falling within 30 miles (48 kilometers) of a landing site. The reason: Falling rain could seriously damage fragile thermal tiles that protect an orbiter and astronauts from the intense heat experienced during entry.

The astronauts spent the last few hours of a long day Monday preparing Discovery for yet another night in space.

The ship's clamshell-like cargo bay doors were swung back open, and the astronauts doffed partial pressure suits worn during launch and landing.

Discovery and its crew are expected to land somewhere by mid-week. The shuttle only has enough fuel and supplies to remain in orbit until Wednesday.