Redesigned Space Shuttle Set for Pre-Launch Testing

The space shuttle Discovery on Friday was linked to the two solid-fuel booster rockets that are to hurl it into space this summer on the first such mission since the loss of the Challenger.

A giant crane hoisted the 85-ton spaceship onto a metal sling and guided it into position with the 126-foot-tall boosters and a 154-foot fuel tank for the three liquid-fuel engines. NASA workers then made electrical, fuel line and other connections, which are to be tested beginning Sunday.

Barring problems, Discovery will be moved to the launching pad next Friday, starting at 12:01 a.m. The ship’s crew of five astronauts and NASA administrators will participate in the roll-out ceremony from a grandstand outside the shuttle assembly building.

Forrest S. McCartney, director of the Kennedy Space Center, will present the astronauts with an autograph book they will carry into space on the four-day mission. The book contains the signatures of the 15,000 center employees who have labored to return the shuttle fleet to space.

The shuttle was moved into the assembly building Tuesday, after several of its systems were overhauled. Many of the changes were made as a result of the loss of the shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven people aboard.

The explosion was blamed on a faulty joint in one of Challenger’s solid-fuel boosters. The joint has been redesigned and has passed four test-firings, and one more test is scheduled before Discovery is cleared for flight.

The launching is planned for Sept. 3, but officials said it could occur as early as late August.

During the flight, commander Frederick H. Hauck and his crew will deploy a communications satellite, conduct scientific and technological experiments and test modifications to the shuttle. The other crewmen are Richard O. Covey, John M. Lounge, George D. Nelson and David C. Hilmers.