Problems Won’t Delay Shuttle, Astronaut Says

The commander of the next space shuttle mission said Wednesday he is certain that engineers will resolve outstanding tile and engine problems in time to meet a Feb. 23 launch.

“All indications are that the people who are working (on) those two problems are confident they’re going to come up with good answers on both and they should not impact our launch,” astronaut Michael Coats said as he and four crew members discussed their upcoming flight aboard Discovery.

Atlantis returned from orbit last month with severe damage to about 200 of the 28,000 tiles that protect it from re-entry heat, the most tile damage ever sustained by a shuttle. And during post-flight inspection, two small cracks were found in a bearing unit in a high-pressure engine turbo pump.

“The engine problem is probably unique to that engine,” Coats said. “They’re looking at Discovery’s engines now, and they have spare turbo pumps in case they have to make a replacement.”

Engineers believe the cracks were caused by moisture that somehow penetrated the housing that holds the bearing.

Flying with Coats will be pilot John Blaha and mission specialists Robert Springer, James Buchli and James Bagian.

Their main task will be to deploy a tracking and data relay satellite to complete a network of payloads that will enable ground control centers to communicate almost full-time with the space shuttle and with several unmanned satellites.

The astronauts will conduct several scientific and medical experiments, including one in which four rats will be used to determine how well injured bones heal in the weightlessness of space.