spacetoday.net: Shuttle launch scrubbed, postponed to January

Posted: Sun, Dec 9, 2007, 11:29 AM ET (1629 GMT)

NASA scrubbed Sunday's planned launch of the space shuttle Atlantis after another fuel sensor failed early in the morning, and shuttle managers later decided to postpone the launch until January to further study the problem. Atlantis was scheduled to launch at 3:21 pm EST (2021 GMT), but the launch was scrubbed about eight hours before the scheduled liftoff when of one of four hydrogen fuel sensors failed during a tanking test. Shuttle managers decided at that point to scrub Sunday's launch. Later in the morning NASA officials concluded there was not enough time to diagnose and correct the problem before the current launch window closes on December 13, and thus decided to postpone the launch to no sooner than January 2. Engineers will continue to study the problem to determine its cause and whether any repairs can be done on the launch pad, or if the shuttle will have to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.