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A wide angle view of Discovery and the payload canister on the rolled back Rotating Service Structure. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today

Over the weekend, NASA engineers will conduct additional tests to determine if Discovery can launch "as is" or have to be rolled back for repairs — which would mean a three-month delay for the STS-131 mission. Helium regulator assemblies downstream from a failed isolation valve in the shuttle's right rear maneuvering engine pod must work perfectly to provide a system redundancy that would justify proceeding with the flight. If the valve needs to be repaired or replaced, neither can be done at the launchpad – meaning Discovery would have to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, de-mated from the SRBs and external tank, and sent to the Orbiter Processing Facility for repairs. But if the regulators check out, and no other problems arise, mission managers could give the 'go' to launch Discovery as is on April 5, 2010.

Today on the launchpad, said NASA Payload Manager Joe Delai was optimistic about the tests. "It's looking good," he said. "They will do a test on Saturday to make sure the two valves farther down the line work, and if that looks good, we'll put the payload on board."
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Read the rest of Will Discovery Be 'Go for Launch' or Forced to Roll Back? (357 words)

© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Space Shuttle, Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-131

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