NASA scrubs Tues. launch due to hurricane Ernesto

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
With Tropical Storm Ernesto breathing down their necks, NASA managers gave up on a Tuesday space shuttle launch and prepared to move Atlantis indoors if the storm continues to threaten. The National Hurricane Center's Monday morning forecast put Ernesto's track almost directly over Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday or early Thursday, and listed a nearly 50 percent chance of tropical storm force winds just south of the cape. If NASA decides to move Atlantis, it will not start actually moving the shuttle until Tuesday, giving engineers the opportunity to still launch on September 3 if Ernesto's track moves away from Florida, NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said Monday.