NASA delays next space shuttle launch by 1 1/2 weeks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is delaying its next space shuttle flight — the last voyage of Endeavour with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ astronaut husband in charge.

The flight was postponed because the original April 19 date conflicts with Russia’s plans to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is now scheduled to blast off April 29 with Mark Kelly at the helm. It will be the next-to-last shuttle mission. Shuttle Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle program this summer.

NASA announced the postponement today, after conferring over the weekend with the Russian Space Agency and other space station partners.

An unmanned Russian cargo ship is set to blast off at the end of April. NASA did not want the craft docking at the space station while Endeavour was still there. Now, the cargo ship will arrive first.

NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said the Russians were reluctant to postpone the supply run because of a time-sensitive biological experiment aboard the craft.

Kelly and five crewmates will deliver a $2 billion physics experiment to the space station, as well as critical spare parts to keep the orbiting outpost running for another decade.

The two-week mission will be the last for Endeavour, the baby of NASA’s shuttle fleet. It was built to replace Challenger, which was destroyed during liftoff in 1986.

The postponement puts the launch, scheduled for 3:47 p.m., on the same day as the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.