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Endeavor's Launch Pushed Back to July 11

The valve problem hasn't been fixed in time

Jun 17, 2009 06:34 GMT  ·  By
A close-up view of the Space Shuttle External Tank's gaseous hydrogen vent line for the STS-127 mission. A leak from this line prevented lift-off on June13th , and again on June 17th, 2009
   A close-up view of the Space Shuttle External Tank's gaseous hydrogen vent line for the STS-127 mission. A leak from this line prevented lift-off on June13th , and again on June 17th, 2009

The American space agency announced this morning that the space shuttle Endeavor would not be able to launch today on its STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. A leak in a hydrogen gas tank appeared in the same spot as the one that led to the cancellation of the flight on June 13th, and, after about an hour spent on trying to fix the problem, engineers decided that there was nothing they could do in time for the scheduled 5:40 am EDT (0940 GMT) launch. The orbiter was slated to take off from the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) seaside Launch Pad 39A.

“Space shuttle Endeavor's STS-127 launch today was officially scrubbed at 1:55 am EDT [0555 GMT] when the same type of gaseous hydrogen leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate occurred. This is the same location where a similar leak resulted in a launch scrub on June 13. Vent valve troubleshooting took place for about an hour before it became clear the problem could not be solved,” NASA reveals in an official press release.

The malfunction occurred on both occasions at a vent pipe leading off the shuttle's external tank, which is used to push away excess hydrogen during launch. If the valve does not work properly, an explosion could swiftly engulf the orbiter and its carrier, endangering the lives of the seven-astronaut crew, as well as the safety of their payload. Over the last four days, since the flight was first canceled, on June 13th, mission engineers have been working around the clock to fix the issue and replace the valve. Despite the good weather, which aided them in their efforts, it turns out that the repairs were unsuccessful, and that the damage has reappeared.

According to the same statement, the shuttle's take-off was pushed back to next month, on July 11th at 7:39 pm EDT (2339 GMT). Until then, the craft needs to be put through an extensive sweep of its systems. Additionally, it has to make room for the LRO/LCROSS lunar probes, which launch tomorrow, Thursday, June 18th, from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, in Florida. Already, the launch of the Moon-bound mission has been delayed by a day, to make room for Endeavor, but it would appear that holding LRO back is no longer the case.