Nasa says shuttle launch possible next week

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Nasa said today that September 6 was the earliest possible date for its next attempt to launch space shuttle Atlantis on a mission to the International Space Station.

The US space agency had originally set last Sunday as the day for liftoff. But the mission was delayed by a thunder bolt that hit the shuttle's seaside launch pad in central Florida on Friday and then by Tropical Storm Ernesto.