Cape Canaveral, Fla. – Flight controllers for the second day in a row Sunday scrubbed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery, poised for liftoff beneath murky gray skies as lightning crackled and thunderstorms rumbled overhead. NASA officials said they will try again Tuesday.
“We have scrubbed for the day,” shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach told mission control at 1:14 p.m. EDT, only a few minutes after mission commander Steven Lindsey and Discovery’s six other crew members had been strapped into their seats. Launch had been scheduled for 3:26 p.m.
NASA decided to “stand down” today to top off on-board supplies of liquid hydrogen, used as fuel in powering the shuttle’s electric system during flight. The hydrogen, despite being cooled to several hundred degrees below zero Fahrenheit, boils off as it sits in fuel cells on the launch pad.
Leinbach said he and mission flight director Steve Stich conferred about noon Sunday after a clearing trend in the weather suddenly darkened, and decided to scrub two hours early to get extra time for refueling, a difficult and painstaking process. A full load of hydrogen should give the shuttle enough extra electricity to add a day to the 12-day mission.
Leinbach said the team will attempt launches Tuesday at 2:38 p.m. and Wednesday, if necessary.
