why did NASA delay the launch of space shuttle Discovery for a fourth time on Friday?
Nasa have launched the space shuttle Discovery on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. Discovery’s seven-member crew will deliver and install solar arrays to the space station, providing power for it to expand. Among crew is Koichi Wakata, who will become Japan’s first long-term resident of the space station. Discovery’s launch had been scheduled for last month but was postponed due to mechanical problems. After the space shuttle eventually took-off on Sunday, Nasa’s associate administrator for space operations Bill Gerstenmaier praised the work of all those who made the launch possible. “It was a true team effort at Nasa,” he said. “There was a lot of critical work that needed to be done and they just did a phenomenal job.” Nasa launch director Mike Leinbach was even more poetic in his description of the launch, describing it as the “most visually beautiful launch” he’d ever seen. “It was just spectacular. I’m very proud to be a part of this team,” Mr Leinbach added. S
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA has delayed the launch of space shuttle Discovery for a fourth time amid valve concerns. After meeting all Friday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shuttle managers decided against launching in a week. The launch had been targeted for no sooner than Feb. 27; it was not immediately known late Friday when it might be rescheduled. NASA originally hoped to send Discovery to the international space station on February 12th. But extra tests were ordered for the valves that control the flow of hydrogen gas into the external fuel tank during liftoff. One of those valves broke during the last shuttle launch in November. Managers want to make sure if that happens again, the ship and its seven-man crew will be safe. Sources: http://news.yahoo.
NASA announced yet another delay for the launch of the Discovery STS-119 mission to the International Space Station Friday, marking the fourth time the mission has been postponed. An all-day review of the craft’s readiness for launch left managers still under-confident about the operations of three hydrogen control valves that channel gaseous hydrogen from the main engines to the external fuel tank. Engineering teams have been working to identify what caused damage to a flow control valve on shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight. NASA managers decided Friday more data and possible testing are required before launch can proceed. “We need to complete more work to have a better understanding before flying,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Gerstenmaier chaired Friday’s Flight Readiness Review. “We were not driven by schedule pressure and did the right thing. When we fly, we want to do so with full confiden
