The launch of the space shuttle Endeavour will not take place before next week as engineers work to fix a technical problem, NASA officials said Sunday.
Endeavour was to have blasted off Friday on its final flight to the International Space Station, but a problem with a heater in its hydraulic system prompted NASA to scrub the launch, dpa reported.
Technicians spent Saturday examining the problem in an effort to prepare for a possible launch Monday. But troubleshooting is likely to take longer than expected.
The six astronauts and their families were headed back to Houston to wait out the repairs. A planned Air Force Atlas rocket launch on Friday means Endeavour could likely not launch again before next week.
Endeavour is making the second to last ever shuttle flight before the ageing fleet is retired later this year. It is to deliver a physics particle detector and extra parts to the ISS.
The mission also has garnered attention because Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who is recovering from an assassination attempt in January was to attend the launch. Her husband Mark Kelly is the astronaut commanding the mission.
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