In addition to the delay of the Atlantis launch (which was caused by lightning), it looks like NASA has to deal with their problem with Ernesto also.

Nope, Ernesto is not one of the Atlantis crew, nor is he NASA's big man, he may just be even more significant to the NASA Space Shuttle">Atlantis launch than those two mentioned. Ernesto is a tropical storm that looks like it's headed to Florida and can affect the conditions for the Atlantis launch.

LeRoy Cain, NASA's launch integration manager, says "With the current storm predictions, it would take a relatively significant change from the current forecasts... to prevent us from going into rollback preparation." However, this is not to say that the launch will definitely be halted and the Atlantis rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. NASA is keeping their options open for the launch date, provided that everything in the system is checked and functioning properly.

In the meantime, NASA has prepared for both options, whether Atlantis leaves the shuttle on Launch Pad 39B or rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Cain adds, "Everybody would like to do a launch attempt Tuesday [but]...none of this is easy. This is just another aspect of what we do that is very challenging." Ernesto is said to have weakened according to the National Hurricane Center, but they warn that Ernesto could regain hurricane status as it moves toward Cuba.

While this is something that most of us have been eagerly awaiting, let's just thank NASA for taking all the necessary precautions before launching Atlantis. We wouldn't want to relive the crash of Columbia in 2003. So for now, let's just cross our fingers that everything goes well and that Atlantis will have a safe launch.