Columbia Poised for Wednesday Science Mission
NASA has confirmed 12:38 a.m. EDT Wednesday as the official launch time for the shuttle Columbia, which was grounded for two weeks because of repairs to its cooling system.
Columbia will carry seven astronauts and the Astro ultraviolet and X-ray observatory when it takes off on the first Spacelab mission since 1985. It will be the 36th shuttle flight.
The Astro mission originally was scheduled for March, 1986, but the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986, delayed it. The flight was rescheduled for May 9 and then for about May 17, but a problem with Columbia’s cooling system was detected.
Technicians removed a cooling valve with a torn filter from the shuttle’s payload bay and replaced it. It was the first time such work had been performed on an orbiter at the launch pad.
A final check of the cooling system this week found all systems to be in order, National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokeswoman Lisa Malone said.
Columbia’s flight is expected to last nine or 10 days.
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