spacetoday.net: Cracks seen in shuttle's external tank

Posted: Thu, Nov 11, 2010, 7:20 AM ET (1220 GMT)
STS-133: on pad before launch (NASA/KSC)

Technicians working the space shuttle Discovery's external tank have found cracks in the tank's structure, complicating plans to complete repairs in time to permit a launch at the end of this month. Workers found the cracks in a structural member of the tank after removing cracked foam on the tank exterior. The cracks are similar to those seen in another external tank, which were repaired by installing "doublers" to reinforce the cracked element, and engineers are studying a similar approach for this problem. It's not yet known what impact, if any, this problem will have on plans to launch the shuttle when the next window opens on November 30. Engineers are also working on a separate issue, a leaking hydrogen vent line, that last week caused the launch to be pushed back to the end of the month.