Cape Canaveral (Florida): NASA rescheduled the launch of space shuttle Discovery for Sunday after thunderstorms caused a one-day delay for what would be the first shuttle launch in a year.
The flight is already tense over worries that foam could fall from the external fuel tank and endanger the mission.
Thunderstorms forced NASA to call off the launch on Saturday.
The launch was rescheduled for 2456 hrs, IST on Sunday, but bad weather was forecast to continue through the weekend, threatening further delays.
Storm clouds moved in and out of the launch zone throughout Saturday morning and early afternoon, posing lightning threats.
As the countdown was held at the nine-minute mark, it became clear the weather would not improve, and launch director Mike Leinbach announced a 24-hour delay.
The seven astronauts aboard the fueled spaceship immediately halted their launch procedures. "It wasn't our time today," shuttle commander Steven Lindsey radioed from the cockpit. "We'll launch when we're ready and, hopefully,tomorrow will look better."
The delay was a disappointment for NASA, which last flew the shuttle in July last year and was eager to get flights to the international space station back on track.
The only technical problem that arose during the countdown was a failed heater for one of Discovery's thrusters, needed to keep the fuel from freezing.
Mission managers decided to proceed with the launch, since the thruster was not needed during liftoff, and work around the problem in orbit.
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