NASA Rules Out Thursday Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA managers on Wednesday left open the possibility that space shuttle Atlantis would blast off this week on a mission to resume construction of the international space station.

NASA managers ruled out a launch attempt on Thursday but said Friday still was a possibility. The decision followed a lengthy meeting over what to do with a problem in the shuttle’s electrical power system that forced a scrub on Wednesday.

Friday is the last day the U.S. space agency can get Atlantis off the ground before interfering with the planned launch of a Russian Soyuz vehicle on a trip to the space station later in the month.