Endeavour Launch Rescheduled

NASA has rescheduled the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour to Wednesday, June 17, 2009. The Endeavour originally was supposed to be launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday June 13, but the launch was delayed after a hydrogen leak was discovered.

The launch of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which was also scheduled for June 17, will have to be postponed until later in the week.

If the shuttle launch is unable to go ahead on June 17, it will probably have to be postponed until July 11 so that the sun will not be at an angle where it can overheat the Endeavour when the shuttle is docked at the ISS.

The space shuttle has eight remaining missions, which the White House has said must be completed by the end of 2010. NASA is then supposed to focus on sending astronauts to the Moon by 2020.

The crew of the Endeavour will be on a 16-day mission in which they will assist with various projects including the completion of a Japanese science laboratory.

The LRO will map the surface of the Moon. At the same time, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will look for water ice by crashing the upper stage of an Atlas 5 Centaur Rocket into a crater on the Moon and examining the resulting debris.