Waiting Game

Shuttle launch canceled: Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly's moment pushed toMonday (maybe)

Space Shuttle Atlantis being rolled out to launch pad in Kennedy Space Center inFlorida
A detail of NASA's official seal
Space Shuttle Endeavour as photographed from the International Space Station asit approached earth
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston
Photo by stewilliamson

The highly-anticipated space shuttle launch set for Friday afternoon has been canceled and pushed back to Monday at the earliest.

The cause? One of the Endeavour's auxiliary power units, which control the hydraulics systems on the shuttle during a return trip, failed this morning during pre-launch testing.

It will take at least a few days to get the critical unit repaired and fully tested. When the delay was first announced, NASA officials said they hoped to be able to try again Sunday, but late Friday that was amended to Monday.

"There's not a way to do the troubleshooting we need to do and stay in a countdown configuration," NASA spokesman George Diller told reporters in Florida. "It will be at least a 48-hour scrub turnaround."

This means that Houston-based astronaut Mark Kelly and his wife, recovering congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, will be waiting longer together in Florida. The initial plan is for Giffords to remain in Florida rather than returning to Houston, where she is undergoing rehab at TIRR. NASA now hopes to get Endeavour in the air on Sunday. The launch could be pushed further into next week though.

President Barack Obama still decided to go to the Kennedy Space Center Friday, where he meet with Giffords and Kelly. The get together with Giffords last about 10 minutes.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”