NASA says bad weather in Florida has delayed plans to bring Space Shuttle Atlantis back to Earth Saturday.
The
U.S. space agency now is planning for a landing on Sunday, either in
Florida or California. Atlantis has enough supplies to remain in orbit
until Monday.
Poor weather conditions scrubbed the original
flight schedule, which would have brought the shuttle down on Friday at
the Kennedy Space Center in the southeastern state of Florida.
NASA
says there are several opportunities for the shuttle and its
seven-member crew to land on Sunday, either at the Kennedy Space Center
or at Edwards Air Force Base in the western state of California. NASA
prefers to land the shuttle in Florida to save the cost of transporting
the spacecraft across the country from California to Florida.
Also
Saturday, President Barack Obama selected former astronaut Charles
Bolden to lead the space agency. If the Senate confirms Bolden, he
will be the first African American to serve as NASA administrator.
The
shuttle astronauts are returning after making unprecedented repairs to
the 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. The repairs are expected to
extend the Hubble's life at least five more years.
NASA says the telescope is now able to look more deeply into space, helping scientists see further back in time.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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