Stormy weather could stall weekend shuttle launch

July 8, 2009

Stormy weather could stall weekend shuttle launch

By MARCIA DUNN , AP Aerospace Writer

The crew of space shuttle Endeavour, from left, flight engineer Timothy Kopra, mission specialist's Thomas Marshburn and Christopher Cassidy, commander Mark Polansky, mission specialist David Wolf, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette and pilot Douglas Hurley arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Cananveral, Fla., Tuesday, July 7, 2009. Endeavour and it's crew, scheduled for a July 11, launch, will deliver and install the final elements of Japan Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

(AP) -- Stormy weather could stall this weekend's launch of space shuttle Endeavour.

NASA will try to launch Endeavour on Saturday night, following a pair of delays last month caused by a hydrogen gas leak. The leak has since been plugged. But now, NASA will have to deal with thunderstorms.

Forecasters on Wednesday put the odds of acceptable weather at just 40 percent for a Saturday evening launch. Conditions improve only slightly on Sunday.

The seven astronauts assigned to the 16-day mission are back at the Florida launch site. They will deliver and install the final piece of Japan's lab at the international space station.

NASA's countdown clocks will begin ticking late Wednesday.

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