Faulty sensor scuppers shuttle launch
Nasa scrubbed today’s launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, this time because of a problem that has bedevilled the space agency before: a faulty fuel tank sensor.
The launch was rescheduled for tomorrow, when Nasa will try a fourth time to get Atlantis off the ground.
Previous attempts over the past 12 days were dashed by a lightning strike at the Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch pad, Tropical Storm Ernesto and a fuel cell coolant pump that gave an erratic reading.
This time, a sensor in the hydrogen fuel tank gave an abnormal reading during a test as the shuttle was being fuelled this morning.
Atlantis’ six astronauts had donned their orange flight suits and strapped themselves into the space shuttle, and the hatch to the shuttle had been closed, when Nasa decided to postpone the launch with 45 minutes to go until lift-off.
