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NASA scrubs shuttle launch after mishap in space

Space station Alpha
Space station Alpha  


By Miles O'Brien
CNN Space Correspondent

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- NASA managers scrubbed the scheduled Thursday launch of the space shuttle Endeavour after a Russian-built cargo ship failed to dock properly with the international space station.

An unexplained obstruction prevented the unmanned Progress vessel from completing its automated docking procedure on Wednesday, officials said. The ship, which is carrying about one ton of provisions for the space station, is attached to the station but in a somewhat "wobbly" manner, they explained.

U.S. and Russian officials decided to delay the launch at least 24 hours while they mulled a decision on how to correct the problem or if a correction is even necessary.

Russian officials were said to favor a "hurry up" space walk to remove the obstruction.

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Space station flight rules do not allow spacecraft such as the shuttle to dock at the station when another craft is not firmly mated to its docking collar.

Endeavor's seven-person crew had been scheduled for launch at 7:41 p.m. NASA had continued launch preparations until late morning as flight controllers in Moscow scrambled to troubleshoot the problem in space.

The shuttle's payload for the mission consists of more than two tons of supplies, including food, hardware, experiments and thousands of miniature U.S. flags, which will later be given to relatives of those who died in the September attacks.

The launch was delayed amid the tightest security ever for a NASA launch, established in light of September's terror attacks and continued concern over the possibility of further strikes.

shuttle Endeavour
Shuttle Endeavour waits on its Florida launch pad.  

Besides unprecedented restrictions of air, boat and automobile traffic, the preventive measures include a beefed up military presence around the NASA spaceport that harbors the shuttle fleet.

While no specific threat was mentioned, Col. Samuel Dick, the Air Force officer responsible for launch security, noted that some of the September 11 hijackers identified by the FBI had lived and trained in Florida.



 
 
 
 


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