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NASA delays shuttle launch till Saturday
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-14 07:14
NASA on Wednesday delayed the launch of shuttle Discovery until at least
Saturday, postponing its first human space flight since the 2003 Columbia
disaster due to a problem with a fuel sensor.
Japanese Astronaut Soichi Noguchi (L) and
mission specialist Steve Robinson (C) are unstrapped by a NASA technician
on the flight deck of the shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center,
July 13, 2005. [Reuters] | "Well all I can say is
shucks," said Wayne Hale, deputy shuttle program manager.
"We came out here all set to go today, we've been working really hard to be
ready to go and we incurred a problem. It took us about five minutes of
discussion to confirm that and decide that it was time to try another day."
Hale said the best case scenario would be a launch attempt on Saturday.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin previously said the earliest date for
another launch attempt would be next Monday, but later said he had the date
wrong.
Discovery was fueled and ready with the astronauts strapped in their seats
for a planned launch at 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT) when the problem with the
liquid hydrogen fuel sensor occurred at 1:32 p.m. (1732 GMT). The cause was not
immediately clear.
Delays due to technical problems or bad weather are common during shuttle
launches. With 2.5 million different parts, the two-decade old shuttles are
complex machines.
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