Bad weather delays space shuttle launch

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Thunderstorms near the Kennedy Space Center forced NASA to postpone Sunday's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour until Monday on a mission to deliver a Japanese-built porch to the International Space Station.

"We had some colliding sea breezes," launch director Pete Nickolenko radioed to the Endeavour crew. "We're going to have to declare a scrub for today and try to bring the team back for another attempt tomorrow."

The launch was rescheduled for 6:51 p.m. EDT on Monday. Meteorologists said there was a 60 percent chance the weather would not be good enough.

It was the fourth delay of Endeavour's flight. Two launch attempts last month were scuttled by hydrogen fuel leaks and a third try on Saturday ended when NASA ordered checks of the shuttle's electrical systems after lightning struck the mast of the launch pad on Friday.

Heavy clouds moved near the Florida launch site less than an hour before Endeavour's scheduled 7:13 p.m. EDT liftoff, with the seven astronauts strapped into their seats and the ship loaded with 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of fuel to blast it into orbit.

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