NASA will utilize the repaired tank for Atlantis’ mission, as opposed to swapping it for a new tank. But, the time savings appears to be gone. June is the earliest that Atlantis will go. And since June was the planned launch timeframe for an Endeavour flight, delays for this year’s launch schedule are expected to ripple through all of 2007.

Atlantis and its external fuel tank were both peppered by a hail storm that barely registered on weather radar in the Orlando back in February. Workers at the Kennedy Space Center saw something very different, in what forecasters called an explosion of a storm that popped up over the launch pad and showered both Atlantis and pad workers with chunks of hail the size of golf balls. The result of that was a pock marked external fuel tank with hundreds of chips and divots in the foam insulation.

Fixing the damage took patience and strong stomachs. Atlantis was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Shuttle launch schedule was put on hold. Work platforms were set up around the nose of the top of the tank, and engineers laid on their bellies with sanding blocks to slowly scrape away at damaged foam so new foam could be squirted in place.