NASA engineers are determining whether a pressure sensor on the righthand solid rocket booster of shuttle Atlantis will have to be replaced, but officials say a change-out could be done without impacting an Oct. 10 target launch date.The chamber pressure sensor produced electrical readings outside the expected range during a test earlier this month. The readings were within allowable ranges, but engineers nonetheless have been troubleshooting the problem.
The pressure sensor was retested Monday night, and engineers were unable to duplicate the problem. NASA's Engineering Review Board will decide whether the sensor should be removed and replaced. Plans are being made to swap out the transducer if necessary.
The sensor detects chamber pressure within the booster as it is firing during the first two minutes of flight. A drop or spike in pressure readings can be a sign that the booster is not operating properly.
Kennedy Space Center spokeswoman Candrea Thomas said the replacement work -- if required -- would take a couple of days but could be done in parallel with other work at launch pad 39A.
"So it really wouldn't cost us anything timewise," she said. "It's not going to be an issue."
NASA shuttle fleet operator United Space Alliance replaced two of the sensors on the booster set that propelled Atlantis into orbit on an International Space Station assembly mission in June 2007.
Atlantis and seven astronauts remain scheduled for launch Oct. 10 on NASA's fifth and final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. NASA officials said Monday that the agency should be able to hold onto that date despite an ongoing, weeklong shutdown at Johnson Space Center in Houston in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge and save the NASA image of shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, where it is being readied for launch on a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Then click the enlarged image for an even bigger view. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
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