CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- NASA has indefinitely postponed the Florida launch of U.S. space shuttle Atlantis because of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Shuttle managers meeting Monday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center said preparations were proceeding to roll Atlantis off its launch pad and inside the protection of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Ernesto is forecast to pass near Cape Canaveral Wednesday.
"We'd like to get off the pad (Tuesday) morning if at all possible," said Launch Director Mike Leinbach. "We'd much rather be back in the VAB earlier rather than later."
Forecasters Monday predicted tropical-storm-force winds would prevail at Cape Canaveral by Wednesday morning and hurricane force winds by that evening.
NASA's launch window extends to Sept. 13, but NASA was hoping to launch by Sept. 7 to avoid a conflict with a Russian Soyuz rocket also bound for the International Space Station.
Atlantis will require eight days of launch preparations once it is returned to Launch Pad 39B.
During STS-115, Atlantis' astronauts are to deliver and install a 17.5-ton, bus-sized truss segment to the ISS. The truss includes a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics.
