Shuttle Rocket’s First Test-Firing Delayed Again

The first test of the redesigned booster for the U.S. space shuttle was further delayed Friday to give engineers more time to resolve a computer problem.

On Thursday, the crucial test had been called off after three aborted attempts and was rescheduled for today.

But officials said that the test conductors needed an additional day to carry out a “dry run” and determine whether they had fully resolved the problem that frustrated Thursday’s planned captive firing. They said a decision on whether to test the rocket on Sunday will be made tonight.

The 126-foot-long rocket is mounted horizontally on a test stand at the Morton Thiokol Inc. plant in the Wasatch Mountains.

Engineers for Morton Thiokol and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration hope that a two-minute test-firing of the huge booster will prove that their modifications have removed the flaw that led to the Challenger shuttle explosion 19 months ago.

A spokesman for the space agency stressed Friday that crews preparing for the much-anticipated test were working at a “measured pace” and that the rocket will not be fired until they are certain that the trouble has been resolved.

The problem delaying the test involves faulty communications between two computers, officials said, and has nothing to do with the modifications to the rocket.