Reason for cancelled Shuttle launch

from http://shuttle.nasa.gov
note: add 5 hrs to convert from CDT to UTC

STS-71 Status Report -- 8:50 a.m. CDT Friday, June 23, 1995

Managers have postponed today's scheduled launch of Atlantis due to
the inability for tanking operations to commence.

Tanking Atlantis involves loading about 500,000 gallons of supercold
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the large external tank of the
shuttle. Operations to tank were put off from the original start time
of about 6:45 a.m. CDT today due to severe weather and lightning
within about five miles of the launch pad.

This is a stringent weather criteria in place for safety reasons.
Managers delayed tanking for as long as possible to still make a
launch attempt today, but they were forced to postpone the launch when
it became apparent the weather would not clear in time to tank and
launch Atlantis during the short seven-minute window that opens at
press pace for next page --24:07 p.m. CDT today.

Atlantis has now been rescheduled for launch tomorrow, Saturday, June
24, 1995, during a 10-minute window that opens at 3:43 p.m. CDT. A
launch tomorrow will see Atlantis dock with the Russian Mir space
station early next week and land back at Kennedy Space Center on July
4.
Received on Fri Jun 23 1995 - 14:28:52 UTC