Florida ? NASA has pushed back the launch of space shuttle Atlantis until at least early June so that technicians can finish repairing its hail-damaged fuel tank, officials said Tuesday.

The new launch date was set for no earlier than June 8 – a nearly three-month delay for the first shuttle mission of the year.

NASA had been trying to decide whether to finish repairing the tank and use it for Atlantis’ mission or swap it out with another tank. But NASA managers said they were pleased with the progress of repairs that already have been made.

“We don’t see any show stoppers in front of us, but we understand there still is quite a bit of work to do on the tank,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations.

Golfball-size hail left thousands of dents on the foam insulation on Atlantis’ fuel tank as it sat on the launch pad in February. The space shuttle was rolled off the launch pad and sent back for repairs, forcing NASA to miss the original March 15 launch date.

During the 11-day mission, Atlantis’ crew will deliver a new pair of solar arrays to the space station and fold up an old pair of solar panels.