The launch of the US Space Shuttle Atlantis originally scheduled for Sunday and delayed due to a lighting strike at the launch pad is likely to take place Tuesday, NASA management announced Sunday in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA's so-called mission management team was scheduled to meet at 2200 GMT Sunday to make a final decision on the launch time. The lightning strike, which occurred Friday with Atlantis already in position for launch at the Kennedy Space Centre, had a strength of 100,000 amps of electricity, almost five times more powerful than during normal storms. It was the most powerful lightning strike ever to hit the space centre, NASA team manager LeRoy Cain said. The lightning bolt did not strike the shuttle itself, but a lightning rod on top of the 36-storey building at the launch pad which conducted it to the ground. NASA employees said later they could smell a charred odour from the wiring system. A new launch schedule was tentatively set for 4:04 pm (2004 GMT) Monday, but managers decided to allow inspection teams more time to examine the shuttle's booster rockets for signs of damage.
