Space shuttle Endeavour launch postponed again
June 17th, 2009 - 2:45 pm ICT by IANSWashington, June 17 (DPA) US space agency NASA Wednesday postponed the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour after technicians detected a hydrogen gas leak during fuelling just hours before scheduled lift-off.
The shuttle’s launch had been set for 5.40 a.m. (0940 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida for a 16-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was to carry the final pieces to the Japanese Kibo module of the ISS.
The aborted launch followed a four-day delay caused by a similar leak of the potentially hazardous gas from an external fuel tank.
A new launch date was set for July 11, NASA officials said after the mission was called off Wednesday.
The seven-member crew were to install a porch for experiments outside the space station, bring spare equipment and conduct other repairs during five planned spacewalks.
NASA postponed the Endeavour lift-off after it discovered that hydrogen was leaking from a vent line and had to empty the fuel tank containing liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
The problem was similar to one in March that delayed the launch of the Discovery shuttle.
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- Space shuttle Discovery blasts off (Lead) - Aug 29, 2009
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- NASA delays Endeavour launch by 24 hours - Jul 12, 2009
- NASA's delays launch of space shuttle Endeavour till May 2 - Apr 30, 2011
- NASA's space shuttle Endeavour docks with International Space Station - May 19, 2011
- Launch of NASA's space shuttle Endeavour postponed until July 13 - Jul 13, 2009
- Discovery shuttle launched - Apr 05, 2010
- Space shuttle Endeavour launch cancelled due to gas leak - Jun 17, 2009
Tags: cape canaveral florida, discovery shuttle, dpa, external fuel tank, gas leak, gmt, hazardous gas, hydrogen gas, international space station, launch, liquid hydrogen, member crew, nasa, nasa officials, oxygen, porch, space shuttle endeavour, space station iss, us space agency, vent line