WASHINGTON - The US space agency delayed Tuesday the March 15 launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for several weeks, a day after the orbiter's external fuel tank was damaged by hail.
A strong thunderstorm swept the Cape Canaveral, Florida, area Monday, pelting the shuttle with hail as it sat on a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center being prepared for a mission to the orbiting International Space Station.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has to return the shuttle to its hangar to repair the fuel tank, delaying the launch.
The distance to the hangar is 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers).
02/27/2007 21:35 GMT