Discovery wont' launch before late February as managers consider expanding the scope of modifications to the shuttle's external tank. Shuttle managers are leaning toward strengthening additional structural support beam's on the tank's mid-section but are continuing to analyze any potential unintended consequences.
Work is to strengthen 32 of the beams called stringers is expected to start Monday. Another 63 could also be bolstered with additional strips of metal.
Senior Space Operations managers will be briefed Monday morning on the plans.
Whether or not the additional modifications are ordered, shuttle managers do not expect to be ready to launch during a window from Feb. 3 to 10, according to a spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The next window likely opens Feb. 27 and extends to March 6.
IMAGE: Repair work to space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank begins in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
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