Another Date for Endeavour

Wednesday, July 15, 6:03 p.m. is new launch date.

Weather is once again the cause of scrubbing the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. Anvil clouds and storm cells containing lightning flared up toward the end of the countdown. Launch safety rules require the launch be rescheduled.

You can find out more by watching the press conference online live at 8 p.m. on NASA TV.

Scrubbed for the 4th time!

Weather pushes Space Shuttle Endeavour launch to Monday, July 13.

Once again the launch of space shuttle Endeavor has been postponed to another day. On Sunday, the launch was delayed because of the weather, and for me personally it’s more disappointing than a mechanical problem. You have no control over the weather and all that’s keeping you from launching is a few clouds and lightening. 

I was very disappointed, but I am sure the STS-127 team is devastated. They were about 20 minutes away from the launch. Closer than they have been so far in this on again, off again mission. The team will remain in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center for another launch attempt tomorrow.

My brother, Mason, and I are back in Austin,Texas, home of Astronaut Tim Kopra, who is part of STS-127. We were in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center in June for the first two attempts to launch the shuttle.The first two delays were for mechanical reasons.

In Austin, we attended a launch watching party put together by Tim's family and friends. We had the live launch coverage on every TV and anxiously waited to see the blast off. With the launch less than 20 miutes away, we heard NASA officials declare it a "no go." NASA will try again tomorrow evening. Every day that Endeavour doesn’t launch, you subtract 20 minutes from the launch time. So tomorrow the launch will be 6:51 p.m. ET. NASA can launch the shuttle until Tuesday, July 14.

If you're wondering why the shuttle has to launch at strange times like 6:51 p.m. and why NASA moves the time up by 20 minutes every day, it's because the shuttle has a very small launch window to put it into the right orbit to rendezvous with the space station.

Follow us tomorrow on Twitter as we will once again cover the  the long anticipated launch of Endeavour and mission STS-127.

—Bailey Pownall

PHOTO: Storm clouds roll in over the NASA Vehicle Assembly building and Launch Control Center moments after Space Shuttle Launch Director Pete Nickolenko called the launch a "No Go" due to weather conditions. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Launch is Off Again!

On again off again space shuttle launch now set for July 11.

Launch managers call it a scrub when they cancel a launch. The space shuttle Endeavour has been scrubbed twice now.

It's 2 a.m. and my brother Mason and I are at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hoping to see the 5:40 a.m. shuttle launch. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, but delayed because of a gas leak.

The fuel tanks were drained and the leak worked on, but to no avail. As the space shuttle crew prepared for launch, NASA had to scrub it again. The leak was back and STS-127 has been delayed once again.

We arrived early this morning and went through two different security and bag checks. Hundreds of people are here with us and they are all disappointed. Of course, there are not nearly as many people here now as there were Saturday. Not everyone could stay for the rescheduled launch.

Here are some of the comments we heard as soon as the second delay was announced:

"You've got to be kidding!" "Now we'll never see a launch!"

According to one of the security guards we talk to, seeing a launch up close is a very special experience.

NASA TV will provide more information in about an hour we have been told. You can log on to NASA TV and watch (if you're up this late!)

A lunar orbiter scheduled for launch on Thursday should go ahead as scheduled. A new date is now set for Jully 11 at 7:39 p.m.  ET.

—Bailey Pownall

Photo: At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour is bathed in light as it awaits its early-morning liftoff at Launch Pad 39A. The launch was scrubbed around 2 a.m. Image credit: NASA TV

A Silver Space Shuttle Lining

Follow the space shuttle launch on Twitter at 5 a.m. Wednesday!

A few days ago, the space shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to launch on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Unfortunately, the mission was delayed from Saturday until Wednesday, June 17, at 5:40 a.m. because of a gas leak.

The delay illustrates how important each component of the space shuttle is in a launch. If just one little part malfunctions, it affects the entire mission. Sure, it’s pretty disappointing for everyone who went to so much preparation to see the launch. But it’s all for the astronauts’ safety, and NASA does not want to take any chances.

There's always a bright side! Because of an unexpected free day, my brother Bailey and I spent the morning shopping and looking around the town of Cocoa and Cocoa Beach. Interesting fact: Cocoa Beach is where the 1970’s TV sitcom, “I Dream of Jeannie,” was set. Major Anthony Nelson, who finds a genie in a bottle, was an astronaut.

We visited the famous Ron Jon Surf Shop, where we talked to a shop owner who mentioned that a delayed launch means more business. That's because a delayed launch means people like us with free time on their hands. Many of them find their way into his shop. That is a definitely silver lining for local shop owners!

Maybe my friend, Astronaut Tim Kopra, could find some comfort in that. Every day of delay for him is a day more in quarantine with his fellow astronauts, and one more day away from his family. But his dream to go into space is about to be realized.

Join me and Bailey early tomorrow morning as we Twitter the launch live from Kennedy Space Center in Florida!

—Mason Pownall

PHOTO: Mason and Bailey (hat) Pownall relaxing while waiting for the space shuttle Endeavour launch to be rescheduled. Photo Courtesy Mason and Bailey Pownall.

Space Shuttle Launch a Go!

Endeavor relaunch scheduled for 5:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The refueling of the space shuttle Endeavour will begin at 10 p.m. tonight (Tuesday). Then, if all goes well, it will blast off for the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:40 a.m. Wednesday morning.

My brother Mason and I have been watching the NASA Channel online while we are still in Florida. We traveled here from Texas to see the launch. We interviewed Astronaut Tim Kopra, who is traveling by shuttle to live on the ISS for three months. He will be part of the first six-person crew to live there!

When the launch was scrubbed due to a gas leak, we had a decision to make: how long to wait for the launch to be rescheduled before we had to go back home. So we started watching the NASA channel for news.

I learned that the main problem with rescheduling the launch is that NASA has a very full launch schedule this week and doesn't want to fall behind. Another launch was scheduled for Wednesday, the best day for rescheduling the space shuttle. (For us, too, since we really want to see the space shuttle launch!)

NASA planned to launch its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on Wednesday. After much discussion over several days, NASA officials decided to launch the Endeavour on Wednesday and the LRO on Thursday.

The LRO is another exciting NASA project. The orbiter is going to the moon to help plan another astronaut mission there. NASA is even looking to build a base there where astronauts can live and work.

Now that the LRO is rescheduled, it is all systems go for the Endeavour. Weather is the only other major problem that could keep the astronauts on earth.  As of now, meteorologists predict an 80 percent  chance that the weather will NOT affect the launch. If the weather keeps the shuttle from going on Wednesday,  the next opportunity will be on July 11. We won't be able to stay for THAT.

I really hope that the shuttle can go on Wednesday, because everyone has gone through so much preparation and anticipation (including me and my family!). It would be disappointing to have to wait another month to go. But better to be safe!

—Bailey Pownall

Photo: The STS-127 Mission Patch with each astronaut's name on it. Photo Courtesy NASA Image.