Shuttle Launch Cancelled
The Atlantis Shuttle Launch originally scheduled for October 14, 2008 was cancelled due to continuing problems with the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttle was removed from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida on October 21, 2008. The mission would have required repairs to the Hubble that the Atlantis crew was untrained to make.1
Fast Facts
- The Atlantis launch has been postponed, a new launch date is under review2
- Hubble data handler failure has been blamed for some of the problems
- Astronauts had planned to swap batteries, gyroscopes and cameras on the Hubble
- The Atlantis weighs about 4.5 million pounds; the 3.4-mile return from pad to storage building took about six hours
Past Cancellations
The launch scheduled for December 6, 2007, and December 9, 2007, was canceled after NASA found problems with fuel gauges in the external tank. The launch was rescheduled for January 2008. Similar problems delayed a launch in September 2006.
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Shuttle Launch | NASA | Hubble Space Telescope | International Space Station | Astronauts
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