Shuttle’s return flight delayed
The departure of the space shuttle Endeavour from Edwards Air Force Base has been postponed at least a day and is now expected at sunrise Monday, NASA said.
Technicians encountered delays because three of eight custom-made pins used to bolt an aerodynamic cone to the shuttle’s tail were too large.
They “were just microscopically oversized,” said NASA spokesman Alan Brown.
Machinists were able to reduce the pins to the correct size, and engineers reviewed the work to make sure they would withstand the stress of a cross-country flight.
The shuttle will be mounted atop a modified Boeing 747 jetliner for a piggyback ride home to Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The aerodynamic cone damps tail vibrations on the trip home.
Managers are expected to conduct a flight-readiness review at midday today, when a final decision on departure will be made. Other, unexpected glitches could further delay its departure.
Endeavour landed at Edwards Air Force Base, about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles, on Nov. 30 after a 16-day mission to service the International Space Station. The threat of thunderstorms at Cape Canaveral prompted the shuttle’s route change to California.
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