Shuttle problems delay Europe’s lab

Repairing an electrical connection in a U.S. space shuttle’s fuel tank will push the already delayed launch of Europe’s first permanent space laboratory beyond the current target date of Jan. 10. Two attempts this month to launch the shuttle Atlantis carrying the European lab to the International Space Station were canceled because of malfunctioning fuel sensors that are part of an emergency engine cutoff.

NASA had rescheduled the flight for no earlier than Jan. 10, but the repair plan under consideration will bump the launch date, shuttle program manager N. Wayne Hale Jr. told reporters.