NASA Delays Launch of Endeavour After Glitch in Electronics System

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. —  NASA said on Tuesday it will delay the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour until at least Feb. 9 so that a malfunctioning electronics system aboard the orbiter can be replaced.

Bad weather caused the scrub of Endeavour’s launch Monday on an Earth-mapping mission. Skies cleared on Tuesday, but engineers are still scratching their heads over a technical problem that cropped up during the countdown.

The malfunction was in a critical command system used during the shuttle’s eight-minute climb into space. Launch managers decided early on Tuesday, after a fruitless night of discussion, theories and tests, to replace the unit rather than risk a failure after launch.

NASA said launch technicians would spend the next two days removing rocket fuel from the orbiter and disabling the explosives used to separate the rocket boosters and fuel tank after liftoff.

By Thursday, they should be able to replace the control unit, but the scheduled launch of an unmanned Delta rocket means the shuttle cannot try again until the next week, NASA said.