NASA Hopes For Wednesday Endeavour Launch

Stormy weather again foiled NASA's plans to launch the space shuttle Endeavour late Monday, the fifth setback for the delay-plagued mission.

Photo: NASA Hopes For Wednesday Endeavour Launch

A cluster of lightning-spawning thunderstorms swooped in ahead of the shuttle's 6:51 p.m. EDT (2251 GMT) planned liftoff time, forcing mission managers to call off the attempted launch from NASA's seaside Kennedy Space Center, Space.com reports.

NASA is hoping the weather finally cooperates for its sixth launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour.

Endeavour is poised to take off for the international space station early Wednesday evening, along with seven astronauts. Forecasters put the odds of good weather at 60 percent, The Associated Press reports.

Meanwhile NASA is expected to phase out the space shuttle program starting next year. Plans call for the development of an Apollo-style rocket and capsule system, dubbed Ares and Orion, to replace the orbiter.

Obama administration officials, however, have recently raised questions about the plan's cost and practicality, InformationWeek reports.