|
 |
 advertisement
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Shuttle Discovery Engine Will be Replaced, Could Cause Mission Delay
By Todd Halvorson
Cape Canaveral Bureau Chief
posted: 11:40 am ET
03 November 1999
|
CAPE CANAVERAL, FlaCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - One of Space Shuttle Discoverys powerful main engines is going to have to be replaced, and the work likely will trigger a delay in the planned Dec. 2 launch of a hurry-up repair mission to the agencys $3 billion Hubble Space Telescope. NASA officials said Wednesday that inspectors discovered that a small drill bit inadvertently broke off during routine engine preparations, dropping into a coolant chamber within the $35 million power plant. Fearing that the one-half inch shank could cause engine trouble during flight, managers have decided to remove the engine and replace it with a spare. The work is expected to take 10 days to complete. That, however, is likely to add two to three days to normal launch preparation work, and the mission could be delayed accordingly. NASA officials at Kennedy Space Center said the replacement work is needed to make sure neither the $2 billion spaceship nor its seven-member astronaut crew is endangered during an 8.5-minute climb into orbit. The seven astronauts aim to repair the Hubbles troubled pointing control system, which is one failure away from triggering a science-stopping shutdown of the flagship observatory.
|
|
|
|
|
