NASA Postpones US Space Shuttle Launch To May 22

SHUTTLE NEWS

April 14 photo of Discovery sitting on launch pad 39-B. AFP photo by Bruce Weaver.

Washington (AFP) Apr 20, 2005
The launch of the US space shuttle Discovery was postponed to May 22 from the originally scheduled launch date of May 15, NASA announced Wednesday.

The US space agency postponed the launch to allow more time for preparing equipment and the orbiter for the launch, it will be NASA'S first shuttle flight since the Columbia shuttle disintegrated on reentry to earth in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.

That accident was blamed on faulty equipment and rushed launching procedures.

On Monday new National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator Michael Griffin promised to make sure the shuttle is in the best condition possible before launching.

"We won't delay things gratuitously ... But we won't launch precipitously either," Griffin told reporters.

If NASA cannot launch the shuttle before June 3, the next available launch window will open in July.

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SHUTTLE NEWS

Nothing will be left to chance in Discovery's launch: NASA chief

Washington (AFP) Apr 19, 2005
New NASA administrator Michael Griffin has vowed that nothing will be left to chance when Discovery blasts off on May 15 on a mission to the orbiting International Space Station, resuming US space shuttle flights after a more than two-year break.

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