NASA puts space shuttle's Florida launch on hold

CAPE CANAVERAL, Aug 27: NASA has delayed today's planned launch of space shuttle Atlantis to assess possible damage from a lightning strike on the ship's Florida launch pad, the US space agency said.

Postponement of the launch until no earlier than 4:04 pm EDT 0134 (IST) tomorrow will give managers more time to analyze data from shuttle systems and ground support equipment that may have been affected by the lightning bolt that struck on Friday.

Additional delays will depend on whether repairs are required, following what LeRoy Cain, the senior shuttle program manager at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, called the biggest lightning strike to hit a shuttle launch pad.

''At this point we don't have enough data yet to really know whether or not we have any problems,'' Cain told a yesterday news conference.

''We know just enough to know that we don't know enough to be able to press on into a launch situation tomorrow.'' The Atlantis mission, the third since the 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster, is a critical part of NASA's efforts to finish building the International Space Station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

The lightning bolt struck a thick wire at the top of the shuttle's seaside launch pad at about 2 pm EDT (2330 IST) on Friday.

The wire is part of the launch pad's lightning protection system.

Engineers were looking at at least two potential problems from the strike, including a ground system used to vent hydrogen from the shuttle's external fuel tank and an electronic component aboard the spacecraft.

If NASA can make a launch attempt tomorrow it would be under much more favorable weather conditions than had been forecast for today, with just a 20 per cent chance of a weather-related delay.

TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO

Tropical Storm Ernesto could also complicate NASA's launch plans for Atlantis. By Thursday, the storm, which is projected to hit the Gulf of Mexico, could develop into a Category 3 hurricane on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity, with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour.

NASA is concerned the storm could pose a threat to its Mission Control Center in Houston. It may also affect plans to ship a shuttle external fuel tank from NASA's manufacturing facility near New Orleans in time to support an emergency rescue mission, should Atlantis sustain Columbia-like damage during launch.

Columbia was hit by a piece of foam insulation that fell off its fuel tank during launch. Damage from the impact triggered the shuttle's breakup over Texas as it flew through the atmosphere for landing on February 1, 2003. All seven astronauts aboard died.

While the shuttle fleet was grounded for repairs and safety upgrades after Columbia, work on the International Space Station came to a halt.

Following two flights to test safety upgrades made after the accident, NASA is now ready to restart station construction with the launch of Atlantis.

Atlantis will carry one of the heaviest shuttle payloads, including a 35,000-pound power module for the space station.

It is set for an 11-day mission. However, if NASA should have to evacuate its Houston center, the six-member shuttle crew would be told to leave the space station and land at the first safe opportunity.

REUTERS