NASA is targeting next Wednesday, Dec. 15, to perform a tanking test on shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center.The test is part of an ongoing investigation into what caused cracks in two brackets called "stringers" on the tank's mid-section.
The unexplained cracks have led NASA to postpone Discovery's final launch from early November, when a launch attempt scrubbed because of a hydrogen gas leak during tanking, to no earlier than Feb. 3, 2011.
Technicians at launch pad 39A are beginning the process of instrumenting the tank with strain gauges and sensors intended to provide detailed data on the stress placed on the metal brackets during the loading of supercold propellants.
The pad must be cleared when SpaceX is launching its Falcon 9 rocket from nearby Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, so that launch could influence work schedules and the timing of the test.
No specific time for the test has been set, but it will be done in daylight when lighting will be optimal for cameras and inspection teams to observe the external tank's ridged intertank.
IMAGE: Space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank is visible on launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 2. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
2 comments:
This darn drop tank has caused nothing but problems since day one of the shuttle program. Shedding foam during ascent has played hell with the orbiter tiles. Now problems with the underlying stucture, i.e. the intertank stingers. Hate to be in Lockheed's shoes. Hopefully the tanking test goes well and we fly in February.
Hey does anybody know where is the best price for diesel ?
Go Space X !
Go Dragon !
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