( RIA Novosti ) - NASA confirmed Friday that the launch of its Atlantis shuttle to the International Space Station will take place on June 8, after a three-month delay.
The launch was originally scheduled for mid-March, but was delayed after a severe hailstorm ruptured the insulating foam on the spacecraft's tank. The shuttle is set to deliver solar arrays to the orbital station.
After two days of consultations at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Program manager, said: "We're good to go. We have no show stoppers ahead of us."
If weather conditions are favorable, the Atlantis crew led by Commander Rick Sturckow will lift off at 19:38 local time (23:38 GMT) on June 8 from Cape Canaveral.
NASA said on its Web site: "During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will work with flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, to install a 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like truss and deploy a set of solar arrays. The mission will increase the International Space Station's power capability in preparation for the arrival of new science modules from the European and Japanese space agencies."