Hydrogen leak again postpones space shuttle launch to ISS

NASA has delayed Wednesday`s launch of the space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station over a hydrogen leak similar to one that caused the original June 13 launch to be postponed.

NASA said the STS-127 mission, which was due to take off at 13:40 Moscow time (09:40 GMT), was rescheduled for July 11 "when the same type of gaseous hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate occurred."

"This is the same location where a similar leak resulted in a launch scrub on June 13," the U.S. space agency said.

The shuttle is due to bring to the ISS equipment and seven astronauts: Commander Mark Polansky, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette.

Kopra will join the ISS crew, replacing Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata at the end of his three-month stay on the station.

The STS-127 mission is scheduled to last for 16 days and includes five spacewalks, as well as the complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency`s Kibo laboratory.

sections: Hi-Tech