NASA postpones launch of space shuttle Endeavour

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. space agency NASA said on Sunday that it has decided to postpone the scheduled Sunday launch of space shuttle Endeavour until Monday due to thunderstorms near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The space shuttle Endeavour sits on launch pad 39A following a  cancelled launch attempt at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape  Canaveral, Florida July 11, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"Looks like the team is ready but the weather is not. At this time we are no-go," NASA's launch director said. The next launch attempt will be at 6:51 p.m. EDT (2251 GMT) Monday, according to NASA.

Endeavour should have blasted off to the international space station in mid-June, but the launch was postponed by potentially dangerous leaks of hydrogen gas.

Endeavour's 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.