Clock ticking on Nasa's July takeoff

Nasa has outlined plans for a space shuttle launch attempt next week if efforts to find an elusive fuel sensor glitch are successful.

The sensor problem scuttled Nasa's original plan to launch the Discovery and seven astronauts on Wednesday last week on the first mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

If the shuttle cannot be launched by July 31, the mission will be delayed until September.

If a test of the fully fuelled tank next Tuesday is successful, Nasa could launch the shuttle the next day on its long-delayed mission to the space station, with a return date of July 31.

But if the sensor problem is detected and corrected by the end of this week, Nasa is prepared to turn Tuesday into the launch day.

The international partnership dependent on the US shuttle fleet is getting nervous as Nasa pledges to take as much time as it needs to fix Discovery.

Japan, one of 16 nations involved, has spent more than US$3 billion ($4.5 billion) on space station vehicles and modules, including a laboratory named Kibo - Japanese for "hope".

"It is a concern," said Kuniaki Shiraki, Japan's space station programme manager.

- REUTERS