spacetoday.net: Report: NASA to slip shuttle launch

Posted: Wed, Apr 20, 2005, 8:22 AM ET (1222 GMT)
STS-107: launch (NASA/KSC)

NASA may announce as early as today that it will delay the launch of the first post-Columbia mission by up to a week, NBC reported late Tuesday. According to the report, NASA shuttle managers, meeting this week at the Kennedy Space Center, are expected to delay the launch of STS-114 from May 15 to May 22. The delay will give workers time to catch up on pre-launch preparations that had fallen behind schedule in recent weeks. The launch window for the mission, dictated by the International Space Station's orbit and the requirement to launch during daylight in order to observe the shuttle during its ascent, opens on May 15 and runs until June 3. If the shuttle does not launch by June 3, the next launch window opens in July.