Fifth Space Shuttle Delay

Thunderstorms have caused NASA to postpone a space shuttle launch that was planned for Monday, July 13, 2009.

This is the fifth postponement. Three previous delays were caused by hydrogen leaks and two were caused by bad weather.

NASA hopes to try launching the space shuttle Endeavour again on Wednesday evening, although meteorologists say that there is only a 60 percent chance of good weather.

If the sixth attempt fails, the Endeavour will come closer to the record for failed launch attempts of a shuttle flight.  The 1986 STS-61C Columbia flight and the 1996 Columbia flight STS-73 both had their launches delayed six times before lifting off on the seventh.

If the shuttle is not launched by Wednesday, it will have to wait until July 26 to give a Russian supply ship an opportunity to get to the International Space Station.