|
 |
 advertisement
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Technical Problem Pushes Endeavour Launch to Tuesday
By Jim Banke
Senior Producer,
posted: 02:30 pm ET
01 June 2002
|
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- It will be Tuesday at the earliest before shuttle Endeavour will get it's next opportunity to launch. NASA officials made that decision Saturday when it became clear that a faulty part inside one of the shuttle's two orbital maneuvering engines had to be replaced. The work schedule calls for technicians to replace the part by late Saturday, complete tests of the newly installed part on Sunday and then by Monday night finish all the related work to prepare Endeavour's rear engine compartment for a launch attempt on Tuesday. Liftoff of the 12-day mission to the International Space Station now is scheduled between 4 and 8 p.m. EDT (2000 and 2400 GMT) Tuesday. An exact launch window will be announced about 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) Monday, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Bruce Buckingham. The weather forecast remains pessimistic, but the expectation of afternoon thunderstorms for Tuesday is less than seen during the past few days. The chance of bad weather officially stands at 70 percent, but that number is likely to shrink when the next forecast is released on Monday. The part in question is a regulator that controls the pressure of gaseous nitrogen in the left hand Orbital Maneuvering System engine, which is used after launch to circularize the shuttle's orbit, make changes to the orbit during the mission and to brake the shuttle so it falls out of orbit for landing. The regulator momentarily failed during Endeavour's launch attempt on Thursday, but after passing some last minute tests was considered safe to fly.Then during additional tests of the regulator on Friday, engineers saw the same problem crop up again and the decision was made to replace the faulty hardware, said KSC spokesman Bill Johnson. The regulator is key to safely operating the maneuvering engines because it helps manage the inert gas used to open valves which control the amount of propellant flowing into the engines. The seven-member team making up the STS-111 and Expedition Five flight crews will remain in Florida to wait out the delay in their mission. They will continue to enjoy a light schedule, study their flight plans and participate in some training. Endeavour originally was set for launch Thursday but bad weather scrubbed the attempt. The stormy weather persisted into Friday, prompting officials to call off a second attempt even before it started. With a gloomy forecast for the next few days, mission managers decided to stand down for the weekend to top off some of Endeavour's onboard supply tanks and shoot for a Monday launch attempt. This technical problem bumped the shot at least another 24 hours. Managers will meet again Monday to assess their readiness for a Tuesday attempt.
|
|
|
|
|
