NASA abandoned its plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Saturday after a hydrogen leak.

“Managers met Sunday afternoon to evaluate how repairs are going and assess when Endeavour’s next launch attempt will be,” the agency said in a statement. “The earliest the shuttle could be ready for liftoff is June 17, however there is a conflict on that date with the scheduled launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.”

The Houston Chronicle thinks the smart money is on a launch attempt on the 17th, as this would then allow the lunar mission to launch on the 19th or 20th. “If the opportunities were reversed, and the lunar orbiter launched Wednesday, the time requirements to reconfigure the launch range for the shuttle are longer, and Endeavour would have only one day, June 20, to attempt a launch,” the paper points out.

USA Today adds that all the launch pad gridlock is starting to cost NASA serious money, as the agency has to keep workers on contract for longer than originally planned.

Image: Endeavour ready for launch on 12 June / NASA/Jim Grossmann