CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. - Leaky hydraulic seals on space shuttle Discovery must be
replaced, and the extra work may end up delaying next month's flight, a NASA
official said Monday.
NASA plans
to replace the seals in the right main landing gear strut later this week with
help from contractor BF Goodrich, said George Diller, a space agency spokesman.
The job includes removing the brakes, wheels and tires, and NASA was unsure how
long it would take.
Discovery
is scheduled to blast off Oct. 23 on a flight to the international space
station. That date is in jeopardy now because of the leaking hydraulic fluid,
which has been traced to faulty seals, Diller said.
The problem
cropped up late last week.
During the
two-week mission, astronauts will go out on five spacewalks to outfit a new
space station live-in compartment that will be delivered by Discovery, and
practice repairs on deliberately damaged shuttle thermal tiles.
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