NASA, Playing It Safe, to Replace Shuttle Valve
NASA officials decided Friday to be on the safe side and replace a troublesome sensor-valve combination that stopped a test-firing of the space shuttle Discovery’s engines, adding five to seven days to America’s long-delayed return to space.
The NASA management council, a panel of top agency managers that includes Richard H. Truly, chief of the shuttle program, and Discovery commander Frederick H. Hauck, did not set a new date for the flight readiness test, which is required before Discovery can be committed to the first manned U.S. space mission in 2 1/2 years. The delay means that the Sept. 29 liftoff target cannot be met.
If the replacement can be completed in five days, fueling operations could begin Wednesday night for a Thursday test-firing.
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