Tiny debris outside space station halts shuttle launch CAPE CANAVERAL -- A tiny piece of space debris floating outside the International Space Station caused NASA to scrub Thursday night's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. The space shot might be rescheduled for this evening, but a decision won't be made until this morning, a NASA official said Thursday. The shuttle will take seven astronauts to the International Space Station, where three of them will begin a six-month stay aboard the orbiting science lab. On Wednesday, an unmanned Russian supply rocket filled with food, clothes, toilet supplies and other items arrived at the station but had trouble docking. Sensors and photos showed that debris about the width of a piece of string or wire is preventing a solid fit on the docking, said Jim Van Laak, NASA manager of operations and integration for the space station. NASA experts were worried that if the Russian supply vessel were not securely docked, it might jar loose and damage the space station. Van Laak said Russian space officials believe the soft bump that happens when Endeavour docks at other port on the station would not jar the Russian supply ship loose. But NASA officials want further study because they are concerned it might damage the locking mechanism for the supply ship. ``What we are concerned about is a wobbl ing'' that could damage the locking mechanism, Van Laak said. A bigger question is when to send Russian cosmonauts outside the station to fix the problem without messing up the space crew's tight work timeline. There won't be a final answer until this morning, Van Laak said. Copyright 2001 Miami Herald