WE DON’T KNOW. BUT IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK THAT WAY. Back on Thursday we talked on the MORNING LINEUP HERE about the recalcitrant space shuttle Discovery and its oft-postponed launch for its final flight.
When we last talked, the launch had just been postponed (again) from Thursday until Friday. You can guess what’s coming next. Allow me to quote from the National Geographic’s website:
A “significant” hydrogen gas leak from part of the space shuttle Discovery has forced NASA to scrub the craft’s planned liftoff until at least the end of the month.
Discovery and her six-astronaut crew, led by commander Steven W. Lindsey, were initially set to launch on its final flight from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday. But a series of last-minute issues—including helium and nitrogen leaks in one of the craft’s engine pods, electrical glitches in a backup computer controller in one of the main engines, and bad weather—led to multiple delays.
Space shuttle managers decided this morning to cancel Friday’s launch after a hydrogen gas leak was discovered at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, an attachment point between Discovery’s external tank and a 17-inch (43-centimeter) pipe that vents hydrogen gas exhaust safely away from the shuttle.
After discussing the issue, NASA announced today that the shuttle will fly no earlier than November 30 at 4:05 a.m. ET, the start of the last launch window for the year.
“Discovery is not going out easy,” (launch director Michael) Leinbach told reporters during a Tuesday briefing. “She’s giving us a little bit of trouble. But that’s fine. She’ll fly perfectly when she does.”
The article goes on to say that if they miss this next “window” that only lasts five days, then the next opportunity will be in February. But that bumps up against the planned launch for Endeavour’s last flight. Oh, my.
Read the full STORY HERE. They go into detail on what this next flight’s mission will include….once it gets up there.
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