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NASA Delays Shuttle Launch Until Monday

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the lightning-is-a-good-excuse dept.

rfunches writes "The Associated Press and the New York Times are now reporting that Atlantis will not launch Sunday. The delay will 'give engineers more time to determine whether one of the most powerful lightning strikes ever at a Kennedy Space Center launch pad caused any problems. The lightning Friday didn't hit the shuttle — it struck a wire attached to a tower used to protect the spacecraft from such strikes at the launch pad — but it created a lightning field around the vehicle, NASA managers said. The launch, planned for Sunday, now won't happen until at least Monday.'"

1 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Lighting field? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I don't know...maybe you just misread the section you quoted, so I'll clarify: it didn't strike the freaking shuttle and there's currently no indications of damage! At a million-plus volts and who knows how many amps, you're bound to end up with the some stray electrons dancing around. Unfortunately, when dumb reporters try to describe it by making terms like "lightning field," people who should know better (nerds) drink it in just like they do with "web 2.0" and "people-oriented solutions." Sorry if I'm a little impatient tonight, but it's a Friday, I don't have a date, and I'm sick and tired of the freakin' holier-than-NASA attitude half the people around here have.