NASA Shuttle Repair Underway, Wednesday The New Launch Date?

NASA postpone the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Saturday because of a "leak associate with the gaseous hydrogen venting system". The new launch date could come early as Wednesday if the problems can be corrected in time.

NASA managers are expected to make a final decision this afternoon on whether or not the shuttle will launch on June 17th or if they should delay for another week.

Teams on Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A are in the process of changing out internal seals in the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, which is attached to the external tank. The vent line runs from the GUCP, away from the launch pad to a "flare stack" where excess hydrogen is safely burned off.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

We'll provide more information after the news conference this afternoon that should shed light on the launch date.