Discovery to make new landing try

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Low clouds kept space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven from making their much-anticipated return to Earth on Monday, and NASA vowed to bring the spacecraft down today in Florida, California or possibly even New Mexico.

“We will attempt to land somewhere,” flight director LeRoy Cain said after Monday morning’s two scrubbed landing opportunities.

Discovery is the first shuttle flight since Columbia’s catastrophic re-entry in 2003, and the mission had problems that required emergency spacewalk repairs and constant engineering analysis.

More cloudy weather was expected at Kennedy Space Center today with a chance of rain, but it remained the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s first choice for an early morning touchdown. Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert was the next choice, followed by the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Good conditions were expected at Edwards, rain at White Sands.