NASA Clears Space Shuttle of Radio Glitch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Severe weather and a radio glitch on space shuttle Endeavour won't delay the launch of seven astronauts early Tuesday, NASA officials said this morning.

Technicians discovered a faulty radio on board Endeavour during routine inspections last week, but mission managers cleared the system before the STS-123 space shuttle crew arrived early this morning.

"We were able to exonerate the orbiter and establish that we have a good configuration for flight, so that work is behind us," NASA test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said of the UHF radio problem. "We're tracking no issues at this point."

The radio serves as a backup data and communications system on board the shuttle, and its glitch was traced to a high-power amplifier. Because two low-power amplifiers are functioning normally, Blackwell-Thompson the need for a fix was negated.

Todd McNamara, space shuttle weather officer, said there is a zero percent chance of weather interfering with fueling of Endeavour's 15-story fuel tank Monday evening, and only a 10 percent chance for scrubbing a 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) launch attempt on March 11.

"By launch day we're looking at very favorable conditions," McNamara told members of the press here at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Led by veteran spaceflyer Dominic Gories, the crew of Endeavour's STS-123 International Space Station (ISS) construction mission will deliver Japan's first orbital room, a two-armed Canadian robot and a suite of experiments.

Speaking in Japanese that was translated into English, representatives of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) told reporters today that they are excited to launch their Japanese Logistics Pressurized module (JLP) into space.

"We had to adjust the plan to launch this module, but here we are today," said Yoshiyuki Hasegawa, JAXA ISS program manager, referring to the 2003 Columbia tragedy that claimed the lives of seven astronauts and severely delayed space station construction plans. "Finally, we are [near] the time to launch."

JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa said he can't wait for the moment when his nation's first, van-sized orbital room — one of three components for a massive orbital science lab called Kibo — is installed on the space station next week.

"Japan has been waiting a very long time for this moment," Furukawa told SPACE.com. "I'm going to feel very proud when Takao Doi opens [the module] up and goes inside."

Planned for 16 days, the STS-123 mission is vying for the title of NASA's longest attempted space station construction mission. If all goes as planned, Gorie and his crew will conduct five 6.5-hour spacewalks and safely return to Earth on March 26 at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT March 27).

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