Launch Delayed

Kennedy Space Center – February 28, 2007 – NASA decided Tuesday to roll the space shuttle Atlantis off its launch pad and back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center after a hailstorm on Monday damaged the spacecraft’s external tank. A new target launch date has not been decided, although the next launch opportunity opens in late April and extends to late May. On Monday, a severe thunderstorm with golf ball-size hail caused an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 divots in the tank's foam insulation and minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. NASA officials decided to move the shuttle inside where it will be easier to assess the tank and check for damage. "This constitutes the worst damage from hail that we have seen on external tank foam," said Wayne Hale, manager of the Space Shuttle Program. Hale said that a number of areas need to be repaired and are not accessible at the launch pad. "It will be about a month before we can talk about heading back to the launch posture," Hale said, "given the repair schedule and the ISS requirements.” The shuttle will move off the launch pad by early next week. It was originally moved to the launch pad on Feb. 16 in preparation for a March 15 launch. Atlantis' flight, STS-117, to the International Space Station will be scheduled sometime after a Russian Soyuz spacecraft returns from the station. The Soyuz is delivering new station crewmembers and returning others back to Earth in late April. The STS-117 crew will continue training at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, as they wait for a new target launch date. During the 11-day mission, the astronauts will work with the station crew and ground teams to install a new truss segment, unfold a new set of solar arrays and retract one array on the starboard side of the station.

At Launch Pad 39A, the external tank attached to Space Shuttle Atlantis shows damage from hail bombardment during a strong thunderstorm that passed through Kennedy Space Center about 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 26. A full assessment of the storm's impact is under way by NASA officials. Photo Credit: NASA/KSC

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