The launch of Atlantis for mission STS-122 has been postponed to January

On Sunday, one of the sensors indicating the cessation of fuel flow to the shuttle's engines failed again. NASA has begun investigating the malfunction to ensure the safety of the astronauts when the shuttle launches on January 2

Space shuttle mission STS-122 of the shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station has been postponed to January 2. The launch date depends on the results of the investigation of the fault in the fuel sensor system.

On Sunday, one of the sensors responsible for shutting down the shuttle's engines in case of fuel shortage again showed false readings when filling the tank. NASA's current criterion is that all four sensors work properly.

The sensor system is one of the systems designed to protect the space shuttle's engines from running without fuel. As recalled on the original launch date, December 6, two of the sensors failed.

The STS-122 mission team returned to Houston and before their departure they thanked NASA personnel for their efforts to ensure the success of the launch. "We want to thank all the people who worked hard to get us into space in the current launch window" say the astronauts in a written message. "The support teams at Cape Canaveral, Houston and several sites in Europe worked as planned, we were ready for the flight but we understand that this type of technological challenges are part of the space program. We hope to return for the next attempt when the vehicle is ready for launch."