KSC-01PP-0182

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- A small flock of birds soars above Space Shuttle Atlantis while cars follow behind as Atlantis crawls toward Launch Pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Shuttle has been in the VAB undergoing tests on the solid rocket booster cables. A prior extensive evaluation of NASA’s SRB cable inventory on the shelf revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis, causing return of the Shuttle to the VAB a week ago. Launch of Atlantis on STS-98 has been rescheduled to Feb. 7 at 6:11 p.m. EST