NASA fuels up Atlantis in launch test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA fueled space shuttle Atlantis yesterday, but it was only in a test leading up to the last flight of the 30-year program.

Liftoff isn't until July 8. Shuttle managers want to make sure that repairs to the external fuel tank are good and that no cracks pop up in any of the support brackets. That problem kept shuttle Discovery grounded late last year. The same kind of patches, applied to the aluminum struts in the center portion of the tank, were used for Atlantis.

The struts, or brackets, are in an area where there is no fuel, only instruments. The brackets were made from an aluminum alloy that was more brittle and that, combined with assembly issues, led to the cracking on Discovery's tank.

The fueling operation had been delayed several hours by thunderstorms Tuesday. A countdown rehearsal will be conducted next week with the four Atlantis astronauts. -- AP