Lightning Cancels Test of Shuttle Rocket Part

Lightning forced Morton Thiokol Inc. to cancel a test of the space shuttle’s booster rocket nozzle Friday, but the company said the delay will not affect plans for the first full-scale test-firing of a booster rocket on Wednesday.

Morton Thiokol spokesman Rocky Raab said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had approved the Wednesday test, which will help engineers evaluate materials and concepts for a new shuttle rocket.

The company has been working on a new design since the failure of a joint in one of its boosters was blamed for the explosion that destroyed the shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986, killing its seven-member crew.