Discovery Launch Off Until Late November

Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | 9/8/2010 | Mark Carreau

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

NASA has postponed the launch of Discovery’s 11-day mission to the International Space Station until no earlier than Nov. 30, following a substantial leak of hydrogen gas at a launch pad vent-line fitting during a Nov. 5 countdown to the orbiter’s 39th and final mission.

The leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP), surfaced before 8 a.m. EDT, and the pre-launch Mission Management Team (MMT) initially braced for repairs that would permit another flight attempt on Nov. 8, a day beyond the nominal closing of the launch window.

However, it soon became clear that the lack of rapid access to the GUCP and a second issue — a 7-in. crack in the foam insulation on the orbiter side of the external tank — made a rapid turnaround unlikely, says Mike Moses, MMT chairman.

A solar beta angle cutout — a restriction on shuttle dockings with the space station due to high heating on the orbital plane — will lift on Nov. 30 and remain open through Dec. 5. During the cutout, solar temperatures exceed the capabilities of the shuttle’s thermal control system.

Previously, NASA was unable to begin the mission after the Nov. 1 launch window opened because of stormy weather and a lengthy resolution of a voltage issue with the shuttle’s No. 3 main engine controller. Had the MMT pursued a Nov. 8 launch, Discovery’s week-long stay at the station would have been shortened.

[Padams]

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