Storms may ground Discovery
2005-07-13 17:49
Cape Canaveral - Weather near the Discovery launch pad deteriorated on Wednesday, with a 60% chance conditions will not be favourable for the planned 15:51 (19:51 GMT) lift-off, Nasa said.
Shifting winds meant there was an increasing likelihood of thunderstorms close to the Kennedy Space Centre on Florida's Atlantic Coast, Nasa and US air force officials said.
The probability that weather conditions would cause a postponement of the launch rose to 60%, from 40% earlier in the day, the officials said.
Skies were increasingly overcast in the hours leading to the planned lift-off.
Should Wednesday's launch be called off, Nasa would attempt it again on Thursday.
Nasa has until the end of the month to launch Discovery so it can link up in orbit with the International Space Station.
The launch will mark the start of the first space shuttle mission since Columbia disintegrated upon its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on february1 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- AFP