Discovery's Condition Not Improving at the VAB

According to officials at the American space agency, it would appear that the space shuttle Discovery is currently being prepared for its February launch. However, engineering teams say that there troubles plaguing the spacecraft are a lot more serious that originally thought.

Due to the large number of cracks that were discovered in the orbiter's external fuel tank (EFT), the spacecraft was removed from the Launch Pad 39A facility, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida.

The move saw Discovery, its EFT and its twin solid rocket boosters (SRB) making the miles-long trip from the pad back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where engineers began surveying its fuel tank in great detail.

Analysis revealed a large number of cracks on the container, which is really bad news for the mission. The New Orleans-based Michoud Assembly Plant, which produced the EFT, has fired most of its employees, so constructing another fuel tank is impossible.

NASA experts say that it would take at least 24 months for the entire production process to be restarted, and for a new EFT to be produced. Given that the agency doesn't have such a time frame at its disposal, engineers will most likely try and fix the existing EFT any way they can.

But the issue is a very complex one. The first cracks were discovered in the tank back on November 5, 2010, and several others followed shortly. The Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) was the first segment of the rocket to be affected, Universe Today reports.

Support beams dubbed ‘stringers’ were then found to contain racks themselves. All these discoveries forced experts at NASA to delay the launch of the shuttle for several weeks. Take-off was originally scheduled for early November, but was delayed to December, and ultimately February 2011.

After Discovery was returned to the VAB, engineers subjected it to a series of tests, which also included X-ray investigations of the EFT fuselage. Additional cracks were discovered.

According to recent statements by officials at the agency, today (January 3) is the day that a decision needs to be made on whether engineering teams will attempt to fix Discovery's EFT. It may be that the tank is simply to too damaged to be fixed in time.

If the decision to go ahead with the repairs is made, then the process will take place inside the VAB, and will most likely be done within a month. The shuttle cannot launch earlier than February 3.