Posted: Mon, Jun 15, 2009, 9:48 PM ET (0148 GMT)
NASA announced Monday afternoon that the next attempt to launch the space shuttle Endeavour will take place Wednesday morning, forcing at least a one-day delay in the launch of a lunar mission. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-127 at 5:40 am EDT (0940 GMT) Wednesday, four days later than planned after a leak in a gaseous hydrogen venting system was detected during launch preparations late Friday night. Wednesday had been reserved for the Atlas 5 launch of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft, also from the Cape. That launch will now take place no earlier than the afternoon of Thursday June 18, provided that the shuttle lifts off Wednesday morning.
