The crawler-transporter underneath Space Shuttle Atlantis and mobile launcher platform begins rolling away from Launch Pad 39B, taking the shuttle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The rollback is a safety precaution as the area waits for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm is forecast to be bringing 58-mph to 70-mph winds in the next 24 hours. The shuttle will be moved into high bay 2, on the southwest side of the VAB, for protection from the storm. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

NASA decided to move Space Shuttle Atlantis off its launch pad and back inside the protection of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The roll back began at 10:05 a.m. EDT this morning.

The decision was made due to Tropical Storm Ernesto’s track, which is expected to bring high winds as it passes Kennedy.

A new launch date is not yet scheduled for Atlantis’ flight, STS-115, to the International Space Station. NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency continue to discuss the timing of Atlantis’ mission and the Soyuz spacecraft, which will send the next crew to the Station in September. Atlantis would require eight days of launch preparations once it was returned to Launch Pad 39B. NASA is also investigating additional launch windows later in the fall.

The STS-115 crew will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to continue training as they await a new target launch date.

Source: NASA

More: Images of Ernesto taken from the International Space Station.

Update, 2:30 PM CDT: NASA Mission Managers have decided to return Atlantis to Launch Pad 39B today. The space shuttle is expected it to be back in place by about 8 p.m. EDT. The decision came as Tropical Storm Ernesto was predicted to skirt further west than first expected, allowing a sufficient decrease in winds to permit the shuttle to ride out the storm at the pad. Launch Director Mike Leinbach and the team made the determination at 2:40 p.m. EDT.