CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A small rocket has raised concerns for NASA engineers trying to find out why it did not burn all its fuel during Endeavour's April launch.
The rocket was one of four in the nosecone of the right solid-fueled booster. Together with four similar rockets on the rear of the 150-foot-long booster, they steer the booster away from the external tank and orbiter two minutes after liftoff.
A failure could leave the boosters tumbling uncontrolled, potentially damaging the fuel tank and the orbiter.
Attention is focused on a 32-inch-long, 12-inch diameter rocket that left 4 to 5 pounds of its 75 pounds of fuel unburned, said Solid Rocket Booster Chief Engineer John Chapman of Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
It was the first time such a rocket has returned with unused fuel, though the engine showed no signs of problems during launch.
Chapman said it takes three fully functional rockets to push the booster away safely.
"Obviously we don't like it when our system doesn't perform like it is supposed to perform, it's a cause for concern," Chapman said.
The problem happened during the April 19 launch of Endeavour and has been known for about a week, Johnson Space Center spokesman James Hartsfield said.
While the analysis is under way, Chapman said the chief suspect is water seeping into the rocket casing, possible from rain while Endeavour was on the pad. The issue will be discussed during a series of management meetings leading up to Atlantis' June 14 launch, but is not expected to delay it.
The rocket and seven others that worked fine have been sent back to manufacturer United Technologies in San Jose, Calif.
The occurrence is the latest minor glitch since September 2000. Then, the problem was a bolt on the external tank of Atlantis that did not retract fully.
In November, an explosive bolt on a booster did not fire. It took a backup explosive to separate the booster from the tank.
In January, a launch-ready Atlantis was returned to the Vehicle Assembly Building for inspections of cables on the booster rockets.
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