It took six tries, but Endeavour is finally on the way to the International Space Station. The launch was originally scheduled for June 13, but a leak in the hydrogen fuel tank area scrubbed that one. The first fix didn't work, so it also was the cause for cancellation number two.
ON THE WAYI believe it was lightning that caused the third delay. Four and five were due to bad weather down range and in the area of the landing facility. They say they must have at least a 20 mile clearance in the landing area in case the shuttle needs to make an emergency return shortly after launch. Since our house is less than 12 miles from the landing strip, I can attest that we had some "Lightning in the area" as they say.
I had about given up hope for a Wednesday launch as well. It started raining around noon and continued throughout the afternoon. Finally, around 4:30 P.M., it started clearing out. I watched one of the backup astronauts practicing landings in the shuttle landing trainer for a while. He must have decided that they had enough visibility. The flame lit and the bird flew at 6:03 P.M. for a 16 day mission.
ALL THAT'S LEFT
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