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Shuttle Repairs, Inspections Keep Fleet Grounded
By Irene Brown
Cape Canaveral Bureau Chief
posted: 05:04 pm ET
03 September 1999
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NASA expanding shuttle wiring probeCAPE CANAVERAL An expanded probe into shuttle wiring flaws will keep the fleet grounded for at least another six weeks, as engineers pry into more than 100 miles of wires per spaceship. Final inspection reports will not be completed for weeks, but already more than 38 areas of shuttle Endeavour and 26 areas of shuttle Discovery have been identified as potential hazards, NASA officials said. Any damaged wires are being replaced and areas that have a high potential for damage are being buttressed with flexible tubing and other insulation. Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center are focusing their efforts on Endeavour and Discovery, which are scheduled to fly next. Endeavours radar-mapping mission had been set for September 6, and Discoverys housecall to the Hubble Space Telescope was scheduled for launch on October 14. Both flights, however, remain on hold until NASA managers are convinced the shuttles are safe to fly. "The idea is to keep the schedule away so that everybody can concentrate on what is most important, which is making sure we solve the problem. Solve it correctly, being safe," said Johnson Space Center spokesman James Hartsfield. Shuttles Atlantis and Columbia have had preliminary inspections, but more extensive probes will be conducted. Atlantis December mission to the International Space Station is being delayed until late January. Columbia is scheduled for a 10-month refurbishment at the shuttle manufacturers plant in California and will be inspected there. The wiring problems came to light, because an electrical short-circuit zapped two of shuttle Columbias main engine computers seconds after its last liftoff on July 23.
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