spacetoday.net: Shuttle rolled back to the VAB

Shuttle rolled back to the VAB

Posted: Mon, Mar 5, 2007, 7:27 AM ET (1227 GMT)
STS-117: hail damage to external tank (NASA/KSC)

NASA moved the space shuttle Atlantis back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) Sunday to allow workers to being repairs to damage caused by a hailstorm last week. The shuttle returned to the VAB at 5:49 pm EST (2249 GMT) Sunday, about nine hours after leaving the launch pad. Atlantis had been scheduled to launch as early as March 15 on mission STS-117, but a hailstorm February 26th created thousands of divots in the foam of the shuttle's external tank, as well as some damage to tiles on the shuttle itself. NASA hopes to complete repairs and roll the shuttle back to the pad for a launch attempt in late April.