NASA aims for February shuttle launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - January 11, 2008 The space agency is aiming for a Feb. 7 launch of the mission to
deliver Europe's long-awaited lab, Columbus, to the international
space station. Atlantis was grounded after fuel gauges in its
external tank failed late in the countdown Dec. 6 and again three
days later.
A fueling test right before Christmas traced the problem to a
faulty connector that passes through the bottom wall of the fuel
tank and links wiring from the gauges to the shuttle. That
connector is undergoing tests at super-cold temperatures at
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Another connector - with freshly soldered pins and other
modifications - is being installed in the tank at the launch pad.
On Friday, technicians spliced wires for the hookup, said NASA
spokesman George Diller. The new connector will go in Saturday,
with follow-up work and testing through the weekend, he said.
NASA had hoped to launch Atlantis in January, but needed more
time to complete the connector work. Shuttle managers also had to
work around a Russian cargo ship's planned delivery. The unmanned
cargo ship had been scheduled for a Feb. 7 launch, but the Russians
were expected to move it up a few days to accommodate Atlantis.
NASA has been plagued by fuel gauge trouble for nearly three
years - ever since shuttle flights resumed following the 2003
Columbia tragedy - and is hoping the connector repairs will solve
the problem once and for all. The fuel gauges are part of a
critical safety system to prevent the main engines from running on
an empty tank, a potentially catastrophic situation.
Because of Atlantis' delay, the subsequent shuttle flight to the
space station - carrying up the first piece of a massive Japanese
lab - will not take place until mid-March. That's a month later
than planned.
NASA hopes to be back on track by late April, with an on-time
launch of Discovery with the second part of Japan's lab.
The space agency is under presidential orders to complete the
space station and retire the three remaining shuttles by 2010.
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