Confident a series of lightning strikes near the launch pad on Friday did no harm, NASA managers on Sunday cleared space shuttle Endeavour for a third launch attempt on a mission to deliver a porch to the International Space Station for external science experiments.
Liftoff is targeted for 7:13 p.m. and meteorologists are predicting a 70 percent chance conditions will be suitable for launch.
The shuttle is carrying an external experiments platform that is to be attached to the front of Japan's elaborate Kibo complex.
NASA tried twice to launch the shuttle last month, but were stymied by hydrogen fuel leaks. Technicians found a slight misalignment in a hydrogen venting line and made repairs. NASA conducted a practice fueling to make sure the repair worked.
The agency is trying to finish up eight remaining shuttle missions in the next 15 months and retire the fleet so it can move on with developing a new spaceship that can travel to the moon as well as to the station, which orbits 225 miles above Earth.
(NASA reported 11 lightning strikes within 0.3-nautical miles from the shuttle launch pad on Friday, including this hit on the launch pad lightning mast that was detected by a remote television camera. Credit: NASA)
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