Rain delays Discovery’s return for second day

The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Centre sits partially obscured by fog on Monday in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA managers waived off the landing opportunity for space shuttle Discovery due to rain and low clouds in the area.

Bad weather is once again delaying space shuttle Discovery’s trip home.

Mission Control decided to skip Tuesday morning’s first touchdown opportunity because of rain that developed just before daybreak near the Florida landing strip. Fog was also a concern.

Commander Alan Poindexter and his crew were instructed to take another swing around the world, in hopes the weather would improve.

If the sky does not clear up at Kennedy Space Centre, NASA will send Discovery and its seven astronauts to the backup landing site in Southern California. They’re wrapping up a 15-day resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Monday’s landing attempts were thwarted by rain.