Launch Scrub for STS-130

Shuttle Endeavour on the launchpad shortly after the RSS had been retracted. Image: Nancy Atkinson

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The launch of space shuttle Endeavour was scrubbed about 9 minutes before the scheduled 4:39 am EST (9:49 GMT) liftoff due to low clouds that moved into the area. Mission managers have scheduled space shuttle Endeavour’s next launch attempt for Monday, Feb. 8 at 4:14 a.m. EST (9:14 GMT)

The Mission Management Team will meet at 6:15 p.m. Sunday to give the “go” to fill Endeavour’s external fuel tank with propellants. Tank loading will begin at 6:45 p.m.

The launch of the Solar Dynamic Observatory has subsequently been moved one day forward, and is now scheduled for Feb. 10 at 10:26 am EST.

“We tried really, really hard to work the weather,” said Launch Director Mike Leinbach to the crew when the decision had been made to scrub the launch. “It was just too dynamic. We got to feeling good there at one point and then it filled back in and we just were not comfortable launching a space shuttle tonight. So, we’re going to go into a 24-hour scrub. Thank you all for the efforts you all put in tonight. We’ll see you back again tomorrow night and we hope the weather’s a little bit better.”

Space Shuttle Endeavour on the pad in the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2010. Image: Nancy Atkinson

“And Mike from Endeavour, we understand and we’ll give it another try tomorrow night,” STS-130 Commander George Zamka replied.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/