NASA is reviewing a problem with coolant hoses that could force a delay to the planned Feb. 7 launch of Endeavour."We're still targeting Feb. 7, but it has the potential to do that," said Allard Beutel, a Kennedy Space Center spokesman. "We are looking at this as an issue."
The ammonia coolant lines were to be attached to the Tranquility module, which is due to be delivered to the launch pad and installed in the shuttle next week, during one of three spacewalks.
But the hoses have experienced failures during pre-flight tests this week by a California supplier, and replacements are not readily available.
Program managers will consider options that include:
-- Flying the mission as planned. The hose issues could be resolved, or managers could choose to only partially activate the new module during the 13-day mission and connect the hoses at a later time.
-- Delaying the launch while engineers work to resolve the failures.
-- Jumping to the next mission in line. Considered unlikely, this would require rolling Endeavour back from launch pad 39A, where it arrived Wednesday.
Teams will study the problem through the weekend and discuss it at a station program meeting planned Tuesday, but a decision may come later.
Endeavour's flight is the first of five planned during an eight-month span this year before NASA retires the shuttle fleet. Any delay would make it harder to fly out the remaining missions on schedule.
The Tranquility module and its seven-windowed cupola are the last major living space to be added to the six-person outpost orbiting 200 miles above Earth. The module will house life support equipment, a treadmill and a bathroom.
Six Endeavour astronauts, led by Marine Corps. Col. George Zamka, are scheduled to fly to KSC for pre-launch training on Jan. 19.
Click here for a NASA mission summary.
PHOTO: The Tranquility module and cupola inside the Space Station Processing Facility today at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Amanda Stratford, Florida Today
5 comments:
"The ammonia coolant lines were to be attached to the Tranquility module, which is due to be delivered to the launch pad and installed in the shuttle next week, during one of three spacewalks."
Huh? Spacewalks next week? To install the Tranquility module in the shuttle?
-- "Flying the mission as planned. The hose issues could be resolved, or managers could choose to only partially activate the new module during the 13-day mission and connect the hoses at a later time."The experts are better equipped to make a recommendation and I will go with what they say without any hesitation.For what is worth in regular predicaments the solution proposed above as No.1 in the list is acceptable for it is possible to connect the hoses at a later time and only activate the new module. Plans are to be adapted as needed in every situation.
Apologies if the sentence is unclear -- the module is due to be delivered to the pad and shuttle this Friday. The spacewalks, of course, would come next month if the mission flies as planned.
Thanks for the update.All the reporting on this issue is great. We like to know what we are doing,what the people of Russia and the Ukraine are doing,and most of all it helps us to understand that if we don't do it someone else will!
There's still a lot of work to be done on the technology. They need to implement the right process.
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