NASA scraps Discovery launch until end of month - Summary

Fri, 05 Nov 2010

Washington - Technical problems have forced NASA to delay the launch of the space shuttle Discovery until at least the end of this month, officials said Friday.

Discovery's launch had been delayed several times, initially due to technical problems but later because of poor weather. Then additional technical problems resurfaced ahead of a scheduled take- off on Friday afternoon.

The next launch window is November 30 to December 6.

The latest problems were caused by a vent-line hydrogen leak severe enough to force NASA to scrap a back-up plan to get the shuttle up on Monday, and a 17-centimeter crack in foam lining the external fuel tank.

"We are going to fly when we are ready and clearly were not ready to fly," said Mike Leinbach, the space shuttle launch director.

He added that engineers and officials will thoroughly evaluate the problem and that it was critical to "take this slowly."

NASA was still trying to determine the severity of the problem.

"We just won't know til we get inside the thing," Leinbach said.

NASA officials have not ruled out the possibility that the launch could be delayed until next year and in turn force a postponement of Endeavor's launch, which is scheduled for the end of February.

Discovery's problems are the latest for the shuttle fleet as NASA winds down the legendary space shuttle program. Endeavor's flight was the only remaining scheduled launch, although NASA had not ruled out one more.

The oldest vehicle in the space shuttle fleet still operating, Discovery entered construction in 1979 and blasted off into space for the first time in 1984.

This mission is to deliver the last major US contribution to the International Space Station - an extra room - along with supplies, including a human-like robot known as Robonaut 2, the first-such robot ever sent to space.

After the shuttle fleet is retired, astronauts will travel to and from the ISS on Russian spacecraft.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352171,discovery-launch-summary.html.