CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA on Thursday delayed the flight of the space shuttle Atlantis until late January or, more likely, February to replace a suspect connector in the fuel tank.
The connector is believed to be responsible for back-to-back launch postponements last month.
Deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon said the mission to the international space station is off until at least Jan. 24. “Everything has to go exactly right for us to make the 24th,” he said. Shannon said it’s more likely that Atlantis won't be ready to lift off until Feb. 2, or Feb. 7 if managers decide to conduct another fueling test. However, the Russians are currently scheduled to send a Progress cargo ship to the space station on Feb. 7, and that could pose a conflict.
The connector is believed to be responsible for back-to-back launch postponements last month.
Deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon said the mission to the international space station is off until at least Jan. 24. “Everything has to go exactly right for us to make the 24th,” he said. Shannon said it’s more likely that Atlantis won't be ready to lift off until Feb. 2, or Feb. 7 if managers decide to conduct another fueling test. However, the Russians are currently scheduled to send a Progress cargo ship to the space station on Feb. 7, and that could pose a conflict.
No comments:
Post a Comment