Another shuttle delay
From a NASA press release today..in part:
"FUEL LEAK AGAIN POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA postponed the launch of space shuttle
Endeavour's STS-127 mission Wednesday because of a leak associated
with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's
external fuel tank.
Endeavour's next launch opportunity is July 11. This date comes after
the end of an orbital sun-angle condition called a beta angle
cut-out, which occurs between June 22 and July 10......"
There may be another launch this week of a moon probe. I would have to research launch time/date but it may be tomorrow.
Here is some info from FloridayToday.com:
http://tinyurl.com/l3sbbx
"Almost 40 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, NASA this week hopes to launch a pair of satellites that could pave the way for a future generation to return.
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Though footprints and rovers remain on the lunar surface, surprisingly little is known about the places astronauts would likely explore next.
"Our knowledge of the whole moon, especially the polar regions, is actually quite poor," said Craig Tooley, project manager for the $511 million Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, or LRO. "We have much better maps of Mars than we do of our own moon."
Picking up from Apollo precursor missions and more recent international efforts, LRO will map the cratered satellite in the greatest detail yet over the course of a year to scout out landing sites and resources that could support a human outpost.
Launching with it atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is a $79 million sister mission that plans a lunar double-whammy.
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, will steer the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage on a collision course with a permanently shadowed crater on the south pole.
The spacecraft will then fly through the plume created by the Centaur -- visible through amateur telescopes on Earth -- to search for evidence of frozen water, before crashing itself.
The Atlas V and the two payloads could blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41 as early as 5:12 p.m. Thursday. If space shuttle Endeavour launches today as planned, the targeted liftoff time would move to 6:41 p.m. Friday."
I don't know if the launch date is Thursday or Friday.