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NASA resets Atlantis shuttle launch to February 7
Washington (AFP) Jan 11, 2008 NASA on Friday set February 7 as the new target launch date for the Atlantis shuttle mission to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) that has been beset delays over faulty fuel gauges. Atlantis was originally scheduled for blastoff on December 6, but malfunctioning circuits in the fuel gauges of the spacecraft's liquid hydrogen tank forced the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to postpone the mission several times. NASA said it has finally determined the cause of the problem and now needs to run several tests before it confirms the repair. Weather permitting, the Atlantis launch has been set for 2:47 pm (1947 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA earlier had set January 24 as the tentative launch date for shuttle mission STS-122, but cautioned that February was a more realistic timeline. The agency said it was also aiming for a mid-March launch for the next mission on the shuttle Endeavour programmed to deliver the Kibo Japanese laboratory to the ISS. The new launch dates for Atlantis and Endeavour were set after the Russian Federal Space Agency decided to move up the launch of its automated docking probe Progress from February 7 to February 5, NASA said in a statement. The new launch calendar will allow the Atlantis and Endeavour missions to go ahead before the next Russian Soyuz mission in early April, NASA added. The delay, it said, will let the ISS's Expedition 16 crew of three -- a Russian and two Americans, one of them a woman mission commander -- complete the tasks they have trained for, including support of the docking of Jules Verne, the first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle that will be launched from the Kourou space center in French Guyana. The extra time also allows NASA engineers to complete modifications to the engine cutoff sensor system that postponed two shuttle launch attempts in December, the US space agency said. NASA shuttle managers will meet in the coming weeks to address the schedule of remaining shuttle flights for 2008. The space agency last week announced that an August Atlantis shuttle mission to repair and modernize the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope will also likely have to be delayed. The current Atlantis crew of seven is preparing for an 11-day mission to fly the European Columbus laboratory to the ISS. Until now, only the United States and Russia have had their own laboratories at the ISS. The crew includes two European Space Agency astronauts -- Hans Schlegel of Germany and Frenchman Leopold Eyharts. Eyharts was scheduled to stay on the ISS for two and a half months to prepare Columbus for future scientific work. The agency aims to complete the construction of the orbiting station, planned as a jumping-off point for deeper space exploration, by 2010, when it is due to take its three shuttles out of service. Related Links Shuttle at NASA Watch NASA TV via Space.TV Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com
US shuttle glitches may delay Hubble mission
Washington (AFP) Jan 8, 2008A US shuttle mission to repair the Hubble space telescope this year could be delayed due to the postponement of last month's Atlantis launch, a NASA official said Tuesday. |
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