Endeavour launch delayed by NASA yet again

NASA released an announcement on Friday, May 6, that stated that the earliest the Endeavour will launch for its final mission will now by May 16.  This, after the original date of April 29 was pushed back due to a mechanical problem and was expected to be rescheduled for May2, followed by May 8.  The date continues to close in on the scheduled June 28 launch of the last flight of Atlantis, which will close the space agency’s shuttle program.

NASA will be holding a press conference tomorrow to provide a more detailed update regarding the repairs status for the hydraulic systems on Endeavour.  They stated that “Kennedy [Space Center] technicians are continuing work to resolve an issue in a heater circuit associated with Endeavour’s hydraulic system that resulted in the [April 29] launch postponement”. 

They explained the location of the issue within an aft load control assembly, where a switchbox and possibly some wiring require replacement. That said, NASA confirms that it has not yet managed to discover the actual reason that the switchbox failed, but stated that its technicians are replacing any parts that may have been behind it.

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Posted by Louise Wellington on May 8 2011. Filed under Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.