In Brief:

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida -- NASA managers of the space shuttle Atlantis mission will move the Terminal Countdown Demonstration for the flight crew from March 30 and 31 to April 6 and 7, the Kennedy Space Center announced Friday.

The decision to postpone the test was made to give Commander Jim Halsell's sprained ankle more time to heal. The injury took place during recent training for the mission, a NASA spokesman said.

Currently, managers are considering launch options for Atlantis, tentatively scheduled for an April 17 liftoff. Technicians are performing leak checks on Atlantis' new main engine. The engine was replaced after NASA engineers discovered that the old one was installed using a defective seal.

Rollout of the orbiter to its KSC launch pad remains scheduled for Saturday. The Atlantis crew will prepare the International Space Station for the arrival of the Zvezda Service Module, expected to be launched by Russia in July.

Want more? Go to previous In Brief