Storms May Delay Launch Of Shuttle

Thunderstorms threaten to wash out today’s liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis - and every other possible launch attempt through early next week - and leave NASA astronaut Norman Thagard high and dry in orbit awhile longer.

Atlantis is due to blast off at 2:08 p.m. PDT on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s first docking mission with Russia’s space station Mir.

The shuttle is supposed to deliver two Russian cosmonauts to Mir and bring back Thagard and his two Russian crew mates, who have been aboard the station since March.