Technical problems prompted NASA officials to postpone Thursday's launch of a US space shuttle carrying the long-awaited European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station, according to dpa. The problem appeared to be connected to fuel sensors on the shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank, according to the spaceflightnow website which cited NASA officials. The problem has caused considerable launch delays since the resumption of shuttle travel after the 2003 Columbia disaster. The launch of Atlantis set for 2131 GMT Thursday could take place as early as Friday, according to people connected to the European Space Agency (ESA) in Cape Canaveral. NASA was draining the fuel from the tanks of the launch craft, broadcast reports said. The crew on the journey to the station orbiting 400 kilometres above Earth include German astronaut Hans Schlegel, French astronaut Leopold Eyharts and five American astronauts. The mission marks the beginning of a new chapter in international space flight that is to give Europe its first real foothold in space with the installation of the ESA laboratory. Space travel has been dominated by Russia and the United States for half a century. The ESA lab, built mostly by EADS-Astrium in Bremen, Germany, was supposed to go into operation in 2004. But when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board, shuttle flights were suspended. The 13-ton, 880-mil+kK/*Uro (lij y6+kK/ ollar) Columbus module has seven fixed racks that will accommodate experiments ranging from medical to material research - from the study of single-cell organisms and invertebrates to the basic physics of fluids. The installation will take several spacewalks.
