It has just been confirmed by NASA that the Space Shuttle Atlantis will not be launched on Tuesday since Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to make its way to Florida. Instead, Atlantis will be taken back to its shelter on Tuesday morning, unless Ernesto takes a sudden turn and decides to leave their area alone.

If the shuttle does indeed miss its Tuesday launch, the date of liftoff will have to be pushed beyond the September 7 deadline since it may interfere with the Russian Soyuz flight to the International Space Station in mid-September. However, discussions with Russian officials are currently underway to see if adjustments can be made that would allow the shuttle to begin a mission before its launch window closes on September 13. If this is again missed, the next possible launch date may have to be as far back as October 20.

Th shuttle, which weighs 12 million pounds, will be slowly returned to the vehicle assembly building at 8 or 9 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday to avoid the possible storm. At this time, workers are already busy with removing the fuel and explosives that are used for a launch.

Atlantis is supposed to deliver a major new portion of the International Space Station. Its astronauts are also to install a second set of solar arrays to the station which should double the station's power capability and add more than 17 tons to its mass.