Shuttle Stays Up Just a Little Bit Longer

The longest space shuttle flight in U.S. history stayed in orbit another day after light rain forced officials to scrub plans to land Columbia in the Mojave Desert early Wednesday, disappointing nearly 10,000 people who had gathered to watch.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said prospects were good for a 6:09 a.m. landing today at Edwards Air Force Base, about 35 miles northeast of Lancaster.

But if the inclement weather persists in the California desert, as the National Weather Service forecast suggests it might, NASA may opt to bring Columbia down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:43 a.m. PDT today.

Even light rain can damage sensitive and expensive tiles that line the belly and nose of the shuttle to protect the crew from excessive heat during re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.

Columbia has enough food, oxygen and fuel to last through Friday, and those supplies could be stretched for an additional day or two if necessary, said Don Haley, NASA spokesman.

The 13-day mission, which broke the 10-day endurance record on Monday, was scheduled to land at 6:08 a.m. Wednesday at Edwards.

But flight Cmdr. Dick Richards was notified by 4:23 a.m. that the weather would not permit landing. Columbia was ordered to take another spin around Earth, a trip that takes about 90 minutes.

NASA reset the landing for 7:45 a.m., but that window of opportunity dissolved about 6 a.m. as light rain from tropical storm Darby off the coast of Baja continued to fall.

The seven-member shuttle crew took the news well when NASA waved off the second landing of the day, as Richards and pilot Kenneth Bowersox broke into an off-key chorus of “Oh, won’t you stay, just a little bit longer?”

NASA had played the same song for the crew on Monday, when the mission became the longest space shuttle flight.

Although Columbia’s laboratory--used for experiments on weightlessness--was not reopened with the delay, astronauts were expected to continue observing and photographing Earth and monitoring each others’ physiological reactions to being weightless for two weeks.

The morning’s light drizzle turned into a momentary downpour as discouraged shuttle fans trekked back from the runway area to their cars.

Jeanne Warn of California City, a small Mohave Desert community, brought two friends and three children to see the landing.

“It would have been exciting,” she said. “And it’s a great thing for the kids to see.” But she said the poor weather prepared her for the postponement.

Jessica Thacker, 10, of Mojave, said she was “bummed” that the shuttle had not landed after she got up before dawn to watch the show.

“I’ve never seen a shuttle land before except on television,” she said. “I hope we can come back tomorrow.”