Blogger update, 10:05 p.m.: Launch delayed indefinitely. New briefing time is no earlier than 10:30 p.m.
NASA managers will hold a news conference no earlier than 6 p.m. today to update shuttle Discovery's launch date.
Click on the image above to launch a NASA TV viewer and watch the briefing, which will start at the conclusion of a senior flight readiness review in progress at Kennedy Space Center. And refresh this page for the latest updates.
Participants are expected to include Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations; John Shannon, space shuttle program manager; and Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director.
They'll update findings from tests of flow control valves in the shuttle's main propulsion system, and whether it's safe for Discovery to launch as early as next Friday.
Three valves control the flow of hydrogen gas between the shuttle's main engines and its external tank, maintaining tank pressure as liquid hydrogen propellant is consumed.
One valve's lip broke off during Endeavour's launch in November, so NASA wants to be sure another similar event would not rupture the gaseous hydrogen line or over-pressurize the tank.
Those events could be catastrophic for the shuttle crew of seven astronauts.
After an original target date of Feb. 12, Discovery's launch date has slipped several times to a Feb. 27 target while engineers ran tests on the valves.
An executive-level flight readiness review that began Feb. 3 resumed today at 9 a.m.
Check out this fact sheet for more information about the flow control valves.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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