Virginia Native to Serve As Robotics Specialist on Shuttle Mission
Virginia native Leland Melvin’s next attempt at launching into space will come Feb. 7, more than two months later than planned.
NASA said yesterday that liftoff would be at 2:47 p.m. The original launch date for the STS-122 mission, Dec. 6, was scrubbed because of troublesome backup fuel sensors on the shuttle’s external fuel tank. A fueling test eventually traced the problem to a faulty connector that passes through the bottom wall of the fuel tank and links wiring from the gauges to the shuttle Atlantis.
Another connector is being installed in the tank at the launch pad. Technicians yesterday spliced wires for the hookup, NASA spokesman George Diller told The Associated Press. The new connector is to be installed today and will be tested over the weekend, he said.
NASA had said it would try for as early as Jan. 24, but given the necessary repairs and testing, a February date was more likely.
The Feb. 7 date became feasible when the Russian space agency agreed to move up its unmanned cargo launch from Feb. 7 to Feb. 5. The change allows the next shuttle mission and the one after to launch before the next Russian manned mission in early April.
The main mission of Atlantis is to carry the European Space Agency’s science laboratory to the space station.
Melvin, 43, will serve as the primary robotics specialist on the Feb. 7 mission. Melvin was a chemistry major who played football at the University of Richmond, where he set school records as a wide receiver.
He joined the NFL before injuries sidelined his sports career. He then turned to NASA, first at the Langley Research Center in Hampton in 1989. He was selected for the astronaut class of 1998 and assigned in 2006 to the upcoming mission.
NASA spokeswoman Kylie Clem said the shuttle crew, including Melvin, used the additional time this week training at Johnson Space Center for this mission’s three planned spacewalks. Melvin and three other crew members who will sit on the flight deck also practiced simulations of launch and landing.
Nearly 300 friends and relatives of Melvin’s had attended the Dec. 6 launch attempt, including his UR chemistry professor.
"I’m planning on trying to go back," said William Myers, chairman of UR’s chemistry department. "I will have to cancel classes. I don’t like to, but this is one [shuttle launch] I’ll try to go to."