Technical glitch delays shuttle launch

NASA yesterday postponed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on a mission to restart construction of the International Space Station after a fuel sensor failed, officials said.

The US space agency has been trying for nearly two weeks to send Atlantis and its six-member crew on its way, but the efforts were repeatedly thwarted by weather and technical glitches. Space station assembly has been on hold since the 2003 Columbia accident.

“We’re going to [unload the fuel] ... and come back in tomorrow and fill it back up and see how [the sensor] behaves,” launch director Mike Leinbach told Atlantis commander Brent Jett.