Written by Derek Kessler on
Monday, 24 September 2007
After a busy week of repair work on a leaking hydraulic seal, the Space Shuttle Discovery has been moved from the processing hangar to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be mated with its large external fuel tank and solid fuel rocket boosters. Technicians discovered the leaking seal last week on one of the shuttle's landing gears and determined that it had to be replaced before any further prep work could be done.
The launch target date remains October 23. Discovery will be carrying a connecting hub named "Harmony" to the International Space Station. Harmony will be used to connect a variety of additional modules to the ISS, including science laboratories from the European and Japanses space agencies.
Discovery's external fuel tank has already undergone repairs and a slight redesign after the Space Shuttle Endeavour was damaged by foam debris shed from the tank during launch. Such impacts doomed the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, though engineers determined that Endeavour could return home safely. NASA managers have been working since then to ensure that that she tank does not shed debris in a manner dangerous to the shuttles' fragile heat tile underbellies, but have been unable to modify the current design to eliminate it. The space shuttle fleet (which now consists of just three crafts), is scheduled for retirement in three years.
After a busy week of repair work on a leaking hydraulic seal, the Space Shuttle Discovery has been moved from the processing hangar to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be mated with its large external fuel tank and solid fuel rocket boosters. Technicians discovered the leaking seal last week on one of the shuttle's landing gears and determined that it had to be replaced before any further prep work could be done.
