Shuttle Launch

**Rich-n-Ang** · 13-07-2005, 19:00

The Space Shuttle Discovery is due to launch today at 20:50 (BST) :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4679255.stm

Hope it all goes to plan.

Anyone out there at the moment going to watch ?

**Rooster** · 13-07-2005, 22:39

As of 1:32 EDT the launch has been scrubbed for today.

Rooster

**TonyBlenk** · 13-07-2005, 23:13

A fault in the shuttle's fuel-tank sensor system forces NASA to call off Wednesday's launch of Discovery.

The mission was scheduled to be the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster 2 1/2 years ago. The space agency did not immediately set a new launch date.

**abbeyvillas** · 14-07-2005, 01:34

Must have been really disappointing being cancelled at such short notice, especially for our guests who had arranged to go out & see the launch but are due home on Friday so obviously will not get another chance to see it.

Better for NASA to err on the side of caution though, especially after the Columbia disaster.

Have they given any idea of a relaunch date yet?

**Rooster** · 14-07-2005, 01:48

NASA have said no earlier than Saturday.

Rooster

wrpac00 · 14-07-2005, 01:57

The are saying it could be September. They are draining the fuel and if they need to replace the sensors it will have to be wheeled back to the assembly hall.

**Rooster** · 14-07-2005, 02:10

Saturday is best case, September worst case. At the moment they have insufficent data to establish the cause of the sensor warning. It could be a faulty sensor but it could also be many other things between the sensor and the output, hardware or software. For safety reasons they cannot start thorough examination until the ET has been drained and made inert. This process takes around 21 hours.

Rooster

**esprit** · 14-07-2005, 05:56

All I know is that there was a huge queue up the Beeline going and a huge queue of disappointed people coming back, was very very pleased that due to pressure of work we decided not to go. You have to feel sorry for the astronauts, they were interviewing them yesteday and they were all psyched up, must be hard to power down.

**chrisflowers** · 14-07-2005, 10:40

BBC News are reporting the following -
Nasa now says the launch will now take place no earlier than Saturday.
However, it is considered more likely lift-off will be delayed until Monday.

The agency's administrator, Dr Mike Griffin, told reporters he did not know whether the problem could be fixed at the launch pad or would require the shuttle to be rolled back into its hangar.
The latter would mean a lengthy delay to Discovery's mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

"All I can say is aw shucks," said the shuttle's deputy programme manager Wayne Hale.

"It is an unexplained anomaly. We changed every wire, every electronics box. We thought we had a good system."

Nasa officials said that from the troubleshooting done so far, the problem could be down to suspect transistors in the box that supplies the sensors with power.