spacetoday.net: Next Tuesday earliest launch date for shuttle

Posted: Tue, Jul 19, 2005, 8:55 AM ET (1255 GMT)
STS-114: logo (NASA)

Shuttle managers said late Monday that the next launch attempt for the shuttle Discovery will take place no earlier than Tuesday, July 26, with no guarantee that a launch will be attempted that day. Tests of a faulty fuel sensor that scrubbed last week's launch attempt continue, with no clear understanding of why the sensor malfunctioned. Managers are hopeful that they will be able to find and correct the problem in the next couple of days, which would permit a launch next Tuesday. Alternatively, they could perform a tanking test on the pad that day to expose the sensor to the same conditions that triggered the malfunction last week. The current launch window for mission STS-114 runs through the end of the month, and the next one opens in early September.