More Repair Troubles Could Stall Shuttle
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NASA said it has discovered more cracked equipment, this time in the massive 1960s-vintage movers used to haul space shuttles to the launch pads.
Technicians at Cape Canaveral had just finished fixing fuel-line cracks inside the shuttle Atlantis. The newest cracks are in the bearings of the Apollo-era crawlers and could mean more launch delays.
Three small cracks in Atlantis’ plumbing were fixed, putting the shuttle on track for a launch as early as Sept. 28. But a crawler is needed to get the shuttle from the hangar to the pad.
The mission to add to the international space station was delayed because of the fuel-line cracking, which grounded the shuttle fleet.
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