BLOGGER NOTE, 1:19 a.m.: Engineers are cyling the leak vent valve in an effort to troubleshoot what could be a showstopping problem. An initial cycle of the valve produce no joy, but a second resulted in slightly lower leak levels. Engineers now are reinitiating the flow of liquid hydrogen into the shuttle's external tank to see if leak levels increase again.
A higher-than-allowable leak of gaseous hydrogen from shuttle Endeavour's external tank has prompted NASA to stop the flow of liquid hydrogen into the giant burnt-orange propellant reservoir.
NASA now is attemting to troubleshoot the leak. In the past, engineers have cycled the vent valve on the leaking gaseous hydrogen vent line to try to clear the problem.
Stay tuned.
12 comments:
sounds like a scrub is coming to me. Also there's a good line of storms just north of Flagler Beach moving towards the south.
bad parts....
How does the leak comapre with the one last weekend? It sounds to me as if it's higher than usual but still within acceptable limits.
Conor: It's out-of-spec, meaning the leak is higher than allowable. I don't think they're going to fly with this unexplained anomaly/.....
IF NASA scrubs the launch again, when is the next launch opportunity?
Supposedly July 11.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has the range on Friday and Saturday, and NASA runs into a beta angle cutout with the International Space Station on June 21. That means NASA can't launch the shuttle from June 21 through July 10 because the sun angle on the station during that time will be such that the outpost would be unable to generate enough power, or dispel enough heat, to support a docked shuttle mission.
NASA doesn't seem to have given up though. Although with the fuelling delay, they must been running out of time to launch on time, even if the leak allows it.
would we see the shuttle from Atlanta, Ga if every goes well?
Anonymous:
I know people all along the eastern seaboard can see night/after-dark/predawn launches. But I'm not sure about Atlanta. One of these days you'll have to give it a try and report back to us!
well there goes my shot to see if I can see the shuttle launch from Atlanta. Please delay the launch after July 11. I got a state board cert test to get my nursing aid license and I want to travel down there to see a shuttle launch.
NASA has already updated its flight manifest to show 11th July, so they've ruled out this weekend.
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html
No real surprise with a mystery fault having resulted in three failed attempts out of four.
Anonymous 2.09am. Discovery is due to launch on 7th August, but this date may slip too.
They should be really careful while dealing with gas leak. This is a sensitive issue.
Post a Comment