CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Shuttle Endeavour's launch to the International Space Station is being delayed until Tuesday so that two spacewalking cosmonauts can attempt to fix a Russian supply ship that failed to dock firmly at the outpost earlier this week.
With six American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut onboard, Endeavour is tentatively scheduled to blast off from Kennedy Space Center at 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT) Tuesday.
The weather outlook for launch is good. Meteorologists say there is an 80 percent chance that conditions at NASA's coastal Florida spaceport will be acceptable for launch.
The only potential showstopper: A spacewalk Monday aimed at dislodging an errant, cord-like piece of debris that prevented a robotic Russian Progress cargo carrier from securely docking at the station after its arrival at the complex Wednesday.
U.S. and Russian officials now think the debris might be part of a seal from another Progress craft that was jettisoned from the station earlier this month to make room for the newly arrived supply ship.
Whatever the case, the debris kept docking latches on the Progress and the station from snapping shut. No airtight seal could be formed between the Progress and the station, and the supply ship can't be opened until the problem is fixed.
Consequently, NASA mission managers decided to delay Endeavour's station crew rotation mission until spacewalking repairs can be made, and both U.S. and Russian officials are confident that the work will come off without a hitch.Said senior NASA station project manager Jim Van Laak: "We feel good that it can be done and will be successful."
| What's Next |
| Two cosmonauts will venture outside the International Space Station Monday, aiming to fix a Russian supply ship that failed to firmly dock at the outpost. Click here for live coverage beginning at 8 a.m. EST Monday. |
Look for station flight engineers Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin to venture outside the outpost about 8:30 a.m. EST (1230 GMT) Monday in a bid to fix the problem.
Plans call for the supply ship's drogue-and-probe docking mechanism to be extended, creating an eight- to 12-inch (20- to 30-centimeter) gap between the Progress and the station.
Working in Russian Orlan spacesuits, Dezhurov and Turin will attempt to remove the debris so that the Progress then can be securely latched to the station.
Assuming all goes well, NASA mission managers will meet after the spacewalk to firm up plans for an Endeavour launch attempt the next day.
Endeavour had been scheduled to launch Thursday but those plans were dashed when the problem cropped up with the Progress cargo carrier.
NASA officials initially were concerned that forces imparted during a shuttle docking at the station might cause the poorly docked Progress to wobble back and forth, potentially damaging its probe-and-drogue docking mechanism.
In that case, NASA and the Russians might be forced to jettison the Progress from the station, sending it toward a destructive plunge back through Earth's atmosphere.
Launched Monday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Progress is filled with 2.5 tons of food, supplies, equipment and fuel for the fourth full-time station crew, a trio to be launched to the outpost aboard Endeavour.
The Expedition Four crew includes Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko and two American flight engineers -- Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz -- the three of whom plan to live and work aboard the outpost until next May.
Current station skipper Frank Culbertson and his two cosmonaut colleagues -- Dezhurov and Turin - are scheduled to return to Earth aboard Endeavour. That trio has been onboard the station since August.
NASA mission managers, meanwhile, face a deadline for launching Endeavour. As it stands, NASA only has until next Thursday to launch the station crew rotation mission.
After that, previously scheduled classified operations effectively would block any shuttle launch attempt prior to Dec. 14 on the Air Force's Eastern Range, which provides tracking and range safety services for all launches from Florida's Space Coast.
Complicating matters is the fact that from Dec. 15 through Jan. 2, Endeavour cannot be launched because the station will be flying in an orbit that would expose a docked shuttle to high temperatures that could foul spaceship systems.
NASA officials, consequently, say the agency will be prepared to make three consecutive launch attempts, if necessary, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Agency officials, meanwhile, are negotiating with the Air Force to determine whether some of the previously scheduled classified range operations could be delayed if the shuttle for some reason can't be launched by next Thursday.
Initial indications are that launch opportunities, if necessary, could open up for Endeavour between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14.
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