The shuttle's liftoff was delayed Friday, Saturday and Sunday because of thunderstorms in the Kennedy Space Center area of South Florida. The loose cover was noticed during the countdown for the scrapped Sunday liftoff.
"After a thorough discussion, teams decided that no action was required to reattach the cover and to leave the rotating servicing structure on the launch pad open," NASA said in a statement. "The Tyvek cover … (is) used to keep rain and other debris out of the thruster."
Fueling of the shuttle's external tank started at 9:33 a.m. EDT Monday. Officials said the forecast called for a 40 percent probability of launch-favorable weather conditions.
The shuttle's launch was set for 6:51 p.m. EDT Monday if no technical issues developed and if no rain gets into the thruster, NASA said. If the Monday liftoff must also be postponed, managers said they will plan for a Tuesday launch.
The 16-day mission to the International Space Station will include five spacewalks to complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.
NASA TV will broadcast the launch beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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