External tank specialists from Lockheed Martin and the United Space Alliance removed the suspect hydrogen feed-through connector, which was shipped to Marshall Space Flight Center for inspection during the weekend.
NASA managers will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday to decide on actions that will allow them to set a new launch date for Atlantis, delayed nearly a month by faulty readings caused by a connector that runs through the external tank.
It's unlikely a new launch date will be set on Thursday, but managers should create a plan for correcting the problem caused by faulty readings from a low-fuel sensor in the external tank, said NASA spokesman George Diller.
Watch The Flame Trench for a report from a 5 p.m. EST teleconference Thursday, during which shuttle program manager Wayne Hale will update the status of efforts to launch Atlantis.
The suspect readings scrubbed launch attempts on Dec. 6 and 9.
Additionally, at Pad 39A technicians are preparing Atlantis and its external tank for temperatures near freezing tonight and Thursday, said Diller.
Heaters will be activated for the orbital maneuvering system and the solid rocket boosters. Additionally, systems that contain water will be protected by keeping that water flowing so it cannot freeze.
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