Kennedy Space Center technicians this morning finished draining 1,500 gallons of toxic propellant from Discovery's orbital engines, paving the way for once-leaky fuel line seals to be replaced this weekend. Residual hydrazine propellant is still being vented from the four tanks and lines linked to the shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control System, the rear set of engines and thrusters that are used to change trajectory in space. The process could take up to 48 hours.
Once the system is cleared, technicians wearing protective suits can enter a "doghouse door" in Discovery's aft compartment (left) at launch pad 39A to inspect a flange whose seals may have been responsible for a small, unexplained leak that stopped earlier this week. Crews will replace the seals and reload the propellant.
The work is on track to be completed by Monday, a timeline that would allow Discovery to meet it's targeted 4:40 p.m. Nov. 1 launch but exhaust contingency time reserved for responding to problems.
NASA executives on Monday will gather at KSC for a flight readiness review that will discuss the fuel leak before setting an official launch date. Also Monday, Discovery's six-person crew is scheduled to enter its pre-launch quarantine before flying to Florida on Thursday afternoon.
For more on the 11-day mission to the International Space Station, check out this NASA press kit and mission summary.
IMAGE: Graphic of a shuttle's aft fuel system. Credit: NASA.
1 comment:
The manned space program is being drained from NASA...might as well drain the fuel out of Discovery.
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