Thunderstorms forced NASA to postpone Monday’s homecoming for the three crewmen aboard space shuttle Endeavour after their record-setting stay on the International Space Station.
More rain was expected for Tuesday’s landing attempt by Endeavour, and gusty wind was forecast at the backup site in California’s Mojave Desert.
“Tell everybody waiting on the ground, we’re sorry,” shuttle commander Kenneth Cockrell said after Mission Control called off Monday’s landing.
U.S. astronauts Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz and their Russian commander, Yuri Onufrienko, logged their 194th day in orbit Monday. The Americans broke NASA’s 188-day space endurance record last week.
The three should have been home long before now. Endeavour remained on the ground an extra month so that the shuttle astronauts could train to repair the space station’s robot arm. Stormy weather and a leaky shuttle valve added another week’s delay.
Endeavour finally took off on June 5 with a new three-member crew for the space station.
