The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis sits on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla.on Sept. 5, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

    The agency began fueling the shuttle as scheduled Saturday at 1:15 a.m. EDT, and early signs showed the sensor working fine, NASA officials said. Weather conditions are forecast to be favorable for liftoff.

    Saturday is the last time NASA has to launch Atlantis before the mission of a Russian Soyuz capsule to the space station that is slated for liftoff on Sept. 18. Both Atlantis and the Soyuz cannot be at the space station at the same time.

    NASA has been trying to get the shuttle and its six-member crew off the launch pad on its 11-day mission since Aug. 27.

    NASA's first week of launch attempts were frustrated by weather issues. A massive bolt of lightning struck the launch pad, prompting a two-day review to check the shuttle and ground equipment.

    Then the spacecraft was temporarily removed from the seaside pad because of threatening winds from a tropical storm.

    NASA stopped Friday's launch try only 45 minutes before its scheduled launch because a sensor in the hydrogen fuel tank gave an abnormal reading during a test as the shuttle was being fueled.

    With Atlantis' flight, NASA plans to restart construction of the International Space Station, which has been on hold since Columbia broke apart on its return home in 2003, killing its seven astronauts.

    The crew members of Atlantis will make three spacewalks during the 11-day mission to install a 372 million U.S. dollars solar power module.

    NASA plans to stop flying the space shuttles by 2010 as the United States moves to a new spacecraft to fly crews to the space station and the moon. Enditem

(Agencies)

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    Atlantis launch plagued by delays

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Last-minute glitches continued to plague NASA's space shuttle Atlantis after an errant fuel tank sensor prevented the orbiter and its six-astronaut crew from heading for the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday.

   NASA scraps launch of Atlantis due to new fuel sensor glitch

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A new fuel sensor glitch forced NASA to postpone Friday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis for another 24 hours, according to NASA's official website.

    NASA said on its launch blog updates at 10:54 a.m. EDT that the launch of Atlantis had been scrubbed due to a problem with one of the vehicle's fuel system sensors. 

    NASA tries to launch Atlantis on Friday

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- NASA on Thursday decided to go ahead with a launch attempt of the space shuttle Atlantis on Friday, the U.S. space agency said on its official website.

    After a meeting on Thursday afternoon, NASA managers finally decided to go for launch Friday, despite a problem with a fuel cell on the spacecraft. Replacing the fuel cell could delay any launch attempt by several weeks. 

    Favorable weather predicted for Atlantis' launch

    BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. forecasters on Sunday predicted favorable weather as NASA began the countdown for the launching of the shuttle Atlantis, which is scheduled to lift-off Wednesday.

The weather outlook indicated an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions with a small chance that low clouds or rain showers could force a delay, according to Kathy Winters, shuttle launch weather officer. Meanwhile, the three-day countdown for the shuttle Atlantis has begun at the Kennedy Space Centre.

    Space shuttle Atlantis launch set for Sept. 6

     WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- After weathering tropical depression Ernesto at the launch pad, the space shuttle Atlantis is set for launch from the Kennedy Space Center at 12:29 p.m. EDT on Sept. 6, according to NASA TV on Thursday.

    No damage to facilities or flight hardware is reported at the Kennedy Space Center following the exit of Ernesto from Florida. "We're back," said NASA spokesman Bill Johnson. "There was no water intrusion in any operational areas, and so basically we came through this one unscathed."