NASA officials have said that space shuttle Endeavour won't get a launch attempt this weekend, and likely won't get another launch attempt until June 20.
Officials have instituted a 4-day scrub turnaround, meaning if the repairs go as expected, Wednesday, June 17 would be the earliest Endeavour could launch.
That seems unlikely with a planned Atlas launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on Wednesday. If that stays on the books, NASA's next chance to attempt the shuttle launch will be Saturday, June 20.
After June 20, the launch would be postponed until July 11 at the earliest.
In an early morning press conference, KSC launch director Mike Leinbach said the leak is 'almost identical' to the hydrogen leak that delayed space shuttle Discovery's launch in March.
Mike Moses, head of the mission management team, and Mike Leinbach did acknowledge the possibility of postponing the launch of the LRO to allow Endeavour additional days to launch, but without knowing how fast a complete repair of the leak will take and the logistics involved with delaying the Atlas launch, that scenario is unlikely.
Mission managers will meet Sunday to discuss their launch options after technicians have a chance to get their hands on the ground umbilical carrier plate on the side of the shuttle's giant external tank.
Photo: Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel
Watch the launch postponement briefing below:
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