Space Shuttle Launch Postponed Once More

A pinhole-sized leak of hydrogen gas has caused NASA to delay the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour that was scheduled to take place on June 17, 2009. The leak was found in a vent line that removes hydrogen from the shuttle.

Engineers spent an hour trying to fix the leak, but NASA officials eventually decided to delay the launch.

Before the leak was found, thunderstorms had created additional delays.

This is the second time in a week that the shuttle's launch has been postponed because of a hydrogen leak. An attempted launch was aborted on Jun 13.

The shuttle's visit to the International Space Station (ISS) has now been postponed until July 11. The trip to the ISS must be delayed until then so that when the Endeavour is docked at the ISS, the sun is not at an angle that will cause the shuttle to become overheated.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and are due to be launched from Cape Canaveral at 5:12 PM local time on June 18. NASA had postponed the launch of these spacecraft so that the Endeavour could be launched on June 17.