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Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Dec 21, 2010 Having collected data through the weekend from Friday's tanking test on space shuttle Discovery, workers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are preparing the shuttle for a return to the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB. The move is to take place tomorrow, starting at about 12:30 a.m. EST. Once inside the VAB, the back side of the intertank region of the external tank will be scanned and foam will be reapplied to areas where sensors were placed for the tanking test. Initial data and a walk down by the inspection team identified no cracks in the foam or anything out of the ordinary. Analysis could take several weeks. Engineers are looking at what caused two stringers on the tank's ribbed section to crack during fueling on Nov. 5. Discovery's launch attempt was scrubbed after a leak developed in the ground umbilical carrier plate, GUCP, which also was evaluated. The GUCP did not leak during the tanking test. Analysis could take several weeks. The STS-133 mission to the International Space Station is planned to launch no earlier than Feb. 3, 2011. During space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, the STS-133 crew members will take important spare parts to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier-4. Discovery has been moved to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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NASA tests aging shuttle after failed launchWashington (AFP) Dec 17, 2010 NASA carried out tests on the external fuel tank of the aging shuttle Discovery on Friday after strange cracks appeared during a countdown last month which delayed its final launch into space. "So far, so good," said Allard Beutel, a spokesman for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, adding that there was no immediate sign of the cracks or the hydrogen leak that scuppered the November 5 coun ... read more |
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