Countdown for Shuttle Launch Going Smoothly
The countdown for this week’s space shuttle science mission advanced smoothly Saturday, but a problem with a $2 battery forced NASA to cancel the launch of two low-priority satellites from Challenger’s cargo bay.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said there were “no unresolved technical problems” as the count progressed toward a liftoff at noon Monday.
During the weeklong mission, seven astronauts will observe monkeys and rats in weightlessness and conduct extensive research in a 12-ton Spacelab mounted in the bay.
But NASA said that a problem with 9-volt batteries, such as those used in transistor radios, was responsible for scrubbing the deployment of two small satellites packed in canisters in the GAS cargo hold.
GAS stands for Get-Away Special and is a low-cost program that enables universities and other groups to place payloads in orbit for only $10,000.
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