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CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA postponed the launch scheduled for Thursday of the US space shuttle Atlantis after discovering a problem with a sensor in the spacecraft's fuel tank, officials said.
The next opportunity for the shuttle to launch on a mission to the International Space Station is on Friday afternoon.
The technical issue that forced the postponement was a problem that has cropped up before - false fuel level readings by sensors inside the shuttle's tank.
Tucked inside Atlantis' cargo bay was the European Space Agency's primary contribution to the $100 billion space station programme - 8.2m long, 4.6m diameter module named Columbus.
ESA has waited patiently for this day for more than five years. Columbus' initial planned launch was postponed when Nasa grounded its shuttle fleet for safety upgrades after the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Columbus "is our cornerstone, our baby, our module, our laboratory," said Alan Thirkettle, ESA's space station manager. (Editing by Michael Christie and Frances Kerry)
- REUTERS
