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Atlantis launch delayed to January |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Monday, 10 December 2007
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 This weekend's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis was again foiled by malfunctioning fuel sensors. In an effort to track down the reason behind the glitching engine cut-off sensors, NASA has delayed the launch to no earlier than January 2, 2008. The shuttle still remains on the launchpad with the ESA's Columbus Laboratory in the cargo bay, engineers are confident they will be able to track down the problem and complete repairs without having to pull back to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building and unmounting the shuttle's external fuel tank.
Engine cut-off sensors measure the level of liquid hydrogen fuel in the large orange external fuel tank mounted to the shuttle's belly. They are designed to monitor the fuel level and to turn off the shuttle's three main engines when fuel runs low. NASA flight rules require at least three of the sensors be operating correctly for a launch. On Thursday two of the sensors failed. Engineers thought they had corrected the problem and started fueling the shuttle early Sunday morning. This time one sensor failed, but shuttle program managers decided to call off the launch anyway.
The December launch window is quickly closing; a launch after December 13th would put Atlantis and its destination - the International Space Station - in a position where there would not be enough power generated by the station's solar panels due to sun angles to provide electricity to both craft. For this reason, Atlantis now will launch no earlier than January 2nd, when the angle of sun on the ISS will be more favorable to power generation.
Engine cut-off sensor glitches have plauged the shuttles for the past few years, though until now no shuttle launches had been cancelled due to the malfunctions. This marks the first time this year that NASA has delayed the launch of a space shuttle, the other three shuttle launches this year went off without a hitch.
Commander Steve Frick and his six astronaut crew will return to their training center in Houston while repairs are completed. If the shuttle must be taken off the launch pad, it is practically guaranteed that Atlantis would not launch in January.
The Columbus Laboratory has been an ESA project 20 years in the making. Problems and haggling with NASA over station design in the late 1980s and early 90s delayed the start of station construction, followed by delays with the delivery of critical ISS components from Russia and the nearly three year halt caused by the loss of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. "Another few weeks isn't going to make any difference," said Alan Thirkettle, the European space station program manager. "We want to fly, but we want to fly safe."
NASA expects that the delay in the launch of Atlantis will cause a ripple effect through the entire ISS construction and shuttle launch schedules, both of which are already very tight. NASA has already elected to leave a large electromagnetic sensor to me installed on the ISS in favor of finishing basic construction of habitable modules before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.
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