US postpones Discovery launch

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2005

CAPE CANAVERAL, United States (AFP) — NASA called off the launch of Discovery -- the first by a US space shuttle since the 2003 Columbia disaster -- after detecting a faulty fuel sensor.

The flight was postponed two hours and 20 minutes before the scheduled liftoff. The seven crew, including Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, had already boarded Discovery.

Officials at the Kennedy Space Center said it was not immediately clear when a new launch would be scheduled.

"We have had to scrub the launch for today," NASA spokesman George Diller said.

He said the defective hydrogen fuel sensor could have prevented the shuttle from reaching full power during its ascent into orbit.

The sensor is one of four designed to transmit data to computers on the...