A misaligned seal could be responsible for the hydrogen gas leak that scrubbed Discovery's launch attempt last Friday. Technicians overnight removed a metal plate and assembly that connect a gas vent line to the shuttle external tank. The line routes excess hydrogen to a flare stack where it can be burned off a safe distance from the vehicle.
During fueling of the shuttle, launch teams detected a "significant" and potentially dangerous leak of gaseous hydrogen where the vent line attaches to the tank.
Among some "areas of interest" under evaluation is a flight seal -- one that stays on the tank after liftoff -- that was found not to have been properly aligned.
Flight and ground-side seals will be analyzed more closely in a lab. Teams are in the process of replacing the seals, a quick disconnect device and the vent line attachment plates, work expected to be completed Friday.Engineers plan to meet Friday morning for a status update on the gas leak repairs plus additional work to fix cracks in an unrelated part of the tank (left), which will take longer.
NASA will launch Discovery's final flight no earlier than 4:02 a.m. Nov. 30, the opening of a seven-day window.
IMAGES: Above, on launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, a worker prepared to remove the ground umbilical carrier plate's 7-inch quick disconnect. Below, a worker examined the foam insulation on Discovery's external fuel tank. Two cracks on a section of the tank’s metal exterior were found on one of the stringers, which are the composite aluminum ribs located vertically on the tank’s intertank area. Credits: NASA/Troy Cryder
10 comments:
The guy in the photo is teathered, but it looks as if he forgot to remove his ring or tape it in place.
Not only did he not catch it, the security screener at the the FSS entry area didn't pick up on it either.
I believe the rain weather and windy hit misalignment. I remember I saw the hydrogen vent misalignment down by storm weather after fuel delayed last year for Hubble's mission.
Now there is a couple of cracks in the external tank foam. Seems like the tank has shoddy workmanship since it was slated to go on the final flight. Lets hope there are no accidents that would put our workers or astronauts in danger.
I hope NASA can bill the manufacturer for warranty repairs to a brand new $40,000,000 tank.
Misaligned seal.?? Obviosly human error, who did the job? Who inspected it? Who signed off on the operation? Who got fired? Inquiring minds want to know.
"The guy in the photo is teathered, but it looks as if he forgot to remove his ring or tape it in place.
Not only did he not catch it, the security screener at the the FSS entry area didn't pick up on it either." YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!
BTW: its spelled tethered!!!! N obviously u dnt know the regulations!!!
Hey Anonymous,
You only tape the fingers you want to keep!
Hi.
I drove from Pennsylvania two weeks ago with my wife hoping to see the launch. Luckily, it was our 30th Anniversary so I had a good excuse.
To cut to my question, I'd REALLY like to come back in a few weeks (an idea my lovely bride thinks is insane) to see the November 30 scheduled launch and the missle they are supposed to launch December 8th.
Is there a good chance at least one of them would go up? At this point I'd be happy to even see a bottle rocket. Any thoughts would be appreciated. This is my first trip to see a launch. Thanks.
Jack
The gentleman in the photo is wearing fall protection, not a tether.
The picture's too small to tell, but it does look like he as tape over his ring. The OIC's at the pad surface do a great job at checking for tethers on the glasses, rings, etc.
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