Weather Prevents Shuttle’s Landing

Stiff wind caused controllers at Kennedy Space Center to abort the space shuttle Discovery’s planned landing, forcing the crew of seven to stay in orbit an extra day. And from the forecasts, they might be staying aloft even longer. Gusts as strong as 22 mph were whipping across the 3-mile-long landing strip when efforts were called off to bring Discovery home after its space station construction mission. NASA’s wind limit for a safe shuttle touchdown is 17 mph. Even stronger wind is expected today. Discovery has enough fuel and power to stay up until Wednesday. Its flight--the 100th in space shuttle history--began Oct. 11.