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NASA delays shuttle launch till at least Monday

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 15:15 CDT

By Michael Christie and Deborah Zabarenko

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA on Wednesday delayed the launch of shuttle Discovery until next week at the earliest, postponing its first human space flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster due to a problem with a fuel sensor.

"We will not be able to fly today," said NASA launch commentator George Diller. "There are a lot of long faces in the control room."

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said the earliest date for another launch attempt would be next Monday.

"It's not possible to launch tomorrow," Griffin said.

Discovery was fueled and ready with the astronauts strapped in their seats for a planned launch at 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT) when the problem with the liquid hydrogen fuel sensor occurred at 1:32 p.m. (1732 GMT). The sensor is one of four that detects fuel levels when the tank is nearly empty.

In the event of a launch, a sensor malfunction could conceivably cause the main engines to switch off prematurely.

NASA called a news briefing for later on Wednesday to give more information on the problem.

NASA has until July 31 to launch Discovery. After that it will have to delay until Sept. 9, when the International Space Station again comes into the right position for a shuttle rendezvous after a daylight liftoff.

Discovery's mission is the first shuttle flight since the Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia disaster, when seven astronauts died as their spacecraft disintegrated over Texas.

COMPLEX SYSTEM

"It is a complex system. Every little part counts," said astronaut David Wolf during Wednesday's broadcast mission commentary. NASA had problems with the sensors during a fueling test in April but Griffin said Wednesday's malfunction was unrelated.

The problem was the third technical issue to crop up since Tuesday.

A faulty heater delayed the fueling of the external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen by more than an hour on Wednesday, and on Tuesday, a falling window cover damaged two heat-resistant tiles near the shuttle's tail.

The weather had also threatened to prevent the launch, said NASA weather officer 1st Lt. Mindy Chavez, because of a 60 percent chance that thunderstorms would occur nearby.

In 2003, falling foam knocked a hole in Columbia's wing at liftoff, and superheated gases ate into the breach 16 days later when the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere for landing, causing the craft to disintegrate.

Discovery's main mission is to test new safety measures introduced after the Columbia accident, and it will also deliver much-needed supplies and equipment to the space station.

The station's construction has been stalled since the remaining three-shuttle fleet was grounded after Columbia broke apart.

Discovery's flight heralds the last chapter for the shuttle fleet, which is set to be retired in 2010 after about 20 construction flights to the station.

The shuttle's resumption of flight and its eventual retirement will also mark the first step in NASA's new vision of returning to the moon, and of heading to Mars and beyond when the U.S. space agency replaces the shuttle with a new generation of spacecraft.

(Additional reporting by Irene Klotz)

Source: REUTERS

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