Shuttle mission postponed
Posted: Wed, Feb 4, 2009, 7:50 AM ET (1250 GMT)
The launch of the space shuttle Discovery later this month has been delayed at least a week to resolve an issue with a valve in the shuttle's main engines, NASA announced late Tuesday. Discovery was scheduled to launch on February 12 on mission STS-119, but that launch is now planned for no earlier than February 19 after shuttle managers completed a flight readiness review for the mission. Engineers raised concerns with a flow control valve, one of three that channel liquid hydrogen fuel to the engines, after one of them was damaged during the launch of Endeavour last November. The delay will allow additional time for testing to determine what risk any sort of debris from a cracked valve may pose to propellant lines. When it does launch, STS-119 will install the S6 truss segment on the station and deploy its solar arrays, and also exchange one member of the station's crew.
The launch of the space shuttle Discovery later this month has been delayed at least a week to resolve an issue with a valve in the shuttle's main engines, NASA announced late Tuesday. Discovery was scheduled to launch on February 12 on mission STS-119, but that launch is now planned for no earlier than February 19 after shuttle managers completed a flight readiness review for the mission. Engineers raised concerns with a flow control valve, one of three that channel liquid hydrogen fuel to the engines, after one of them was damaged during the launch of Endeavour last November. The delay will allow additional time for testing to determine what risk any sort of debris from a cracked valve may pose to propellant lines. When it does launch, STS-119 will install the S6 truss segment on the station and deploy its solar arrays, and also exchange one member of the station's crew.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, March 14
Britt, Tuberville talk Space Command and legislative updates for Alabama
Alabama Daily News — 4:24 am ET (0824 GMT) Calls Swell For The U.S. To Invest In Space Superiority
Aviation Week — 4:23 am ET (0823 GMT) Autonomy Has Outpaced International Space Law
War on the Rocks — 4:20 am ET (0820 GMT) Sonic boom expected from SpaceX's second launch this week from Vandenberg SFB
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 4:20 am ET (0820 GMT) X announces Bracket Challenge promising trip to Mars with SpaceX as grand prize
Awful Announcing — 4:19 am ET (0819 GMT) |
