January 12, 2011 — It’s the same old story into the New Year — space shuttle Discovery’s launch to the International Space Station has been delayed. Again. But this time the story has a slightly different twist — NASA finally knows what caused the cracking in Discovery's fuel tank.
Discovery’s final trip to the orbiting outpost has been on hold since the beginning of November. According to the Associated Press, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank. Technicians have patched the damaged struts and, as a safety precaution, are reinforcing the remaining struts with thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.
Shannon called it "a very simple, elegant fix” to the problem. "We're going to fly with a lot of confidence in this tank," he told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. "We've gotten rid of the uncertainty."
Engineers also worried that if four or more struts in a row failed, the entire structure could buckle.
The cracked struts were discovered after an unrelated problem — a hydrogen gas leak — stopped Discovery’s launch on November 5.
If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could launch to the ISS as early as February 24. However, NASA officials said shuttle managers have not yet chosen a target date for the mission. The schedule depends in part on traffic at the International Space Station during that time frame. A European cargo spacecraft, ATV-2, is scheduled to launch to the station February 15 carrying supplies and equipment.
During space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, the STS-133 the crew will take important spare parts to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier-4.
Victims of Arizona Shooting Remembered;
Flight Status of Gifford’s Husband Unknown
NASA officials declined to discuss the flight status of astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during an attempted murder that killed six people in Arizona last weekend, the Associated Press reported. He is scheduled to command shuttle Endeavour's last mission in April. His identical twin brother, Scott Kelly, is currently commander of the International Space Station.
"Out of respect to the family, we really are not ready to answer those questions today,” Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA space operations, said at Tuesday’s news conference. “We're going to let Mark decide really kind of what he needs to do. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family…”
On the orbiting lab, Scott Kelly received a call Tuesday from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "There are no people in Russia who are not touched by this terrible news," Putin said through a translator.
On Monday, the ISS crew observ/ed a national moment of silence in honor of the victims of the shooting.
"I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, words of condolences and encouragement for the victims and their families of this horrific event,” Scott Kelly said in a statement. “What is going on in our country that such a good person can be the subject of such senseless violence? It's a sad day."
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Repair work to space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank began in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Technicians are modifying 32 support beams, called stringers, on the tank's intertank region by fitting pieces of metal, called radius blocks, over the stringers' edges where they attach to the thrust panel area. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
Space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank is being worked on and examined in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Crews will be taking x-ray scans beneath the foam insulation of all 108 support beams, called stringers, on Discovery's external tank. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
Gabriele Gifford and Mark Kelly smile for the camera. This picture was taken a few years before they were married.
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