By Rob Coppinger in Orlando
The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery for International Space Station logistics mission STS-121 has been delayed 23hr 38min due to concerns over the presence of electrified Anvil clouds in the area.
Anvil clouds, which hold electrical charge from storms after they have dissipated, cannot be within 17.3nm (32km) of the Shuttle or its possible flight paths. NASA determined that there were Anvil clouds within 17.3nm of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) runway.
The agency plans to launch on 2 July at 1926GMT but the weather is expected to deteriorate over the next two days putting in doubt the prospect of launch before next weekend.
The Orbiter was expected to launch at 1948 from KSC’s pad 39B during a 9min window lasting from 1940 and 40s to 1954 and 2s window. STS-121 is the eighteenth US mission to the ISS and it would be the 32nd flight for Discovery.
The mission commander is Steven Lindsey and his crew of five NASA astronauts comprises, pilot Mark Kelly, mission specialists Michael Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson and British born Piers Sellers; and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter joins them to be transported to the space station to become the third member of the current ISS Expedition 13.
This second return to flight mission will see supplies delivered, replacement of a pump and a communication umbilical reel assembly for the ISS’s mobile transporter fitted, and Shuttle thermal protection system tile repair techniques tested.
Source: Flight International
