Categories: Space Shuttle

Yikes! Lightning Strikes Near Shuttle on Launchpad

NASA photographer captured a lightning strike near Kennedy Space Center, with Endeavour on the launchpad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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Wondering why the rollback of the Rotating Service Structure was delayed last night? Here’s your answer! NASA photographer Bill Ingalls captured part of the lightning storm that delayed the rollback until nearly midnight local time at Kennedy Space Center. It was originally slated to start at about 7 pm. But the late rollback went off without a hitch and preparations this morning are going well. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for no late afternoon Florida storms cropping up today. Liftoff time is scheduled for 3:47 p.m. EDT (1947 UTC) as Endeavour is about to set sail on her final voyage to space.

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/