Shuttle to be rolled back after tanking test
Posted: Tue, Dec 14, 2010, 6:52 AM ET (1152 GMT)
The space shuttle Discovery will be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) after tanking tests later this week, shuttle managers said Monday. The rollback to the VAB will allow technicians to perform additional scans of the external tank that can't be performed on the pad, looking for cracks like the ones spotted in two "stringers" on the tank. The rollback will take place after a previously-planned tanking test earlier this week to test the stresses on the tank, including the cracked stringers, when the tank is filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Discovery, once planned for launch in early November, is now slated for liftoff no earlier than February 3.
The space shuttle Discovery will be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) after tanking tests later this week, shuttle managers said Monday. The rollback to the VAB will allow technicians to perform additional scans of the external tank that can't be performed on the pad, looking for cracks like the ones spotted in two "stringers" on the tank. The rollback will take place after a previously-planned tanking test earlier this week to test the stresses on the tank, including the cracked stringers, when the tank is filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Discovery, once planned for launch in early November, is now slated for liftoff no earlier than February 3.
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