On Being Human

June 13, 2009
 NASA news release
NASA POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR
 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA postponed space shuttle Endeavour's 
launch to the International Space Station on Saturday because of a 
leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the 
shuttle's external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess 
hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Managers scrubbed the 
launch for at least 96 hours. 
 
The earliest the shuttle could be ready to launch is June 17. However, 
there is a conflict on the Eastern Range that date with the scheduled 
launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation 
and Sensing Satellite. 
 
Mission managers will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday to discuss 
the repair options and Endeavour's launch opportunities. A news 
conference will follow the meeting and air on NASA Television and the 
agency's Web site. 
 
The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete 
construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo 
laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the 
Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. 
 
The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug 
Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom 
Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie 
Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese 
astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to 
conclude a three-month stay at the station. 
 
Polansky, who has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed 
online at: 
 
 
 
http://www.twitter.com/Astro_127 
 
 
For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule 
information, visit: 
 
 
 
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv 
 
 
For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, 
visit: 
 
 
 
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle 
 
 
For information about the International Space Station, visit: 
 
 
 
http://www.nasa.gov/station