Previously Stung, NASA Defers Next Date for Shuttle

WASHINGTON — Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, having been burned before, decided today not to announce a date for the resumption of space shuttle flights until mid-September.

“They decided to wait until after the flight readiness review on Sept. 13-14 to set a date,” said Jim Kast, a NASA spokesman. He said officials still hope for a launch before the end of September.

NASA had scheduled the launch for five different dates previously, beginning with July 15, 1987. The subsequent 1988 dates were Feb. 18, June 2, Aug. 4 and Aug. 31, but each time major problems intervened.

Both NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher and the head of the shuttle program, Richard Truly, are on vacation and did not attend today’s senior staff meeting.