Repairs delay Discovery's final launch another day
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL
NASA on Saturday delayed liftoff an extra day because of ongoing
repairs to the shuttle. The flight to the international space
station was originally scheduled for Monday, then slipped to
Tuesday after two gas leaks were discovered onboard.
Officials say they want to take their time to properly plug the
leaks. This will be Discovery's 39th and final mission. NASA is
retiring the shuttle fleet next year.
The latest postponement has nothing to do with Election Day,
when officials expected launch spectators and voters to cause
traffic jams. NASA had urged workers to vote early to avoid those
problems.
NASA has until Nov. 7 to launch Discovery. Otherwise, the flight
will be pushed to December.