CAPECANAVERAL, Fla. - For the secondtime in two weeks, the seven-astronaut crew of the space shuttle Discovery flewinto NASA's Florida spaceport Friday as they prepare for a July 26 launch.
"This wouldbe a great day for a launch," veteranastronaut Eileen Collins, commander of Discovery's STS-114 mission, told reporters here at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle LandingFacility. "We're hoping that thisweather holds through next week."
"We hadsome mechanical problems with a couple of the planes," Thomas said. "We alwayshave back ups with us and just swapped out."
"We arevery proud of the work that the engineers, technicians and managers have doneto try and figure out this problem," Collins said, adding that she and her crewhave been listening in on technical briefings and following the troubleshootingefforts.
Engineershave been tracinga glitch in the engine cut-off (ECO) sensor system inside the liquid hydrogencompartment of Discovery's external tank. One of the four sensors failed toproperly report a 'dry' status - indicating the tank was empty of fuel - duringa countdown test. Under current flight rules, all four sensors are required toperform properly since they ensure Discovery's three main engines shut downbefore its fuel tanks run dry. If the engines continue firing once the tank isempty, they could rip apart the shuttle.
The STS-114 astronauts are NASA's first slated to ride a shuttle into orbit since the 2003 Columbia disaster that claimed the lives of seven astronaut and destroyed one orbiter.
While theengineering investigation has pushed Discovery's launch further into its flightwindow - which closes on July 31 - Collins said that safety,not scheduling, is paramount.
"The launchdate, to us, isn't that important...what's important to us is that we get through this processand do it right," Collins said. "We're really excited about getting this launch off. We'llbe talking to you from space."
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