The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cancelled today's launch of the first space shuttle flight since the Colombia disaster more than two years ago. Citing a faulty fuel gauge on space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, NASA did not immediately set a new launch date. The decision came less than 2½ hours before the scheduled launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the seven astronauts were almost finished boarding the spacecraft. Before the cancellation, rain and thunder over the launch site appeared to be the only obstacles to launching. The fuel sensors "for some reason did not behave today, and so we're going to have to scrub this launch attempt," launch director Mike Leinbach told his team. "So [I] appreciate all we've been through together, but this one is not going to result in a launch attempt today." Astronaut David Wolf, speaking from launch control, said, "We are disappointed, but we'll fly again on another day." A NASA official said that it is unlikely the fuel-gauge problem could be solved quickly and that another launch attempt on Thursday was nearly impossible. NASA has until the end of July to launch Discovery, and if the mission is not undertaken before then, the U.S. space agency must wait until September. The schedule is dictated by both the position of the international space station and NASA's desire to hold a daylight launch in order to photograph the shuttle during its climb into orbit.
