CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA warned space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts Sunday to expect rain delays as they wrapped up their two-week mission and got ready to come home.
Discovery and its crew of seven were scheduled to land this morning at NASA’s Florida spaceport.
Shuttle commander Alan Poindexter said Sunday he enjoys spending extra time in orbit and doesn’t mind if Discovery can’t make it back to Earth until Tuesday.
Mission Control promised to keep monitoring the weather in case the forecast improved. In the worst case, Discovery could always aim for the backup landing site in Southern California on Tuesday.
Discovery has enough supplies to remain in orbit until Wednesday. Regardless of when the shuttle returns, the volcanic eruption in Iceland and cloud of ash over Europe pose no concern, said flight director Bryan Lunney. The shuttle won’t be anywhere near that part of the world during re-entry.
