3rd Try for Shuttle Due This Morning
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA performed yet another sweep of safety inspections on space shuttle Columbia and replaced stale biological samples Sunday for launch attempt No. 3 of a German science mission.
Liftoff was set for 7:50 a.m. PDT today. Forecasters put the odds of good weather at 80%.
German researchers and space officials were eager to get going, not to mention the two German astronauts awaiting their first space flight.
They have endured a Saturday scrub because of a faulty navigation unit, a March launch abort because of an engine shutdown and several earlier delays caused by other troubles.
German astronaut-physicists Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel took the latest delay in stride.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
