Kink fix plan expected Friday

NASA managers are meeting constantly and hope Friday to announce a plan to manage a kinked radiator hose on Atlantis' payload bay door, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.

A delay of next week's launch has not been proposed.

"It's all moving toward the (Feb. 7 launch)," said Beutel.

Engineers are studying the 1 to 1.5-inch diameter hose to determine whether it's under any danger of rupturing, which would release Freon and force the shuttle to use a backup cooling system on launch and re-entry.

The fix could be as simple as pushing the bent hose into place and replacing it after the mission to the International Space Station.

Replacing the hose would have to be done in the Vehicle Assembly building. However, a rollback to the VAB has not been proposed. Three other hoses are retracting normally.