14 DAY TRIAL // With the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) already scrubbed twice, NASA engineers are currently under a lot of pressure to find the faulty hydrogen gas leak, so as to allow the space shuttle to take off on its newly scheduled date, July 11th. Scientists investigating the spacecraft now believe they may have identified the source of the problem, but, in order to be sure, they announced that they would perform a full loading test before July 1st, to see if the issue had been correctly identified. Mission planners are also optimistic that the orbiter will be launched soon.
However, everyone at NASA is aware of the fact that no one can take any chances on this launch. The delivery system carrying Endeavor to space is loaded with liquid hydrogen and oxygen, and, if this fuel ignites uncontrollably, then the risks of a catastrophic explosion increase drastically. “They have good confidence that they know what the problem is and how they can fix it,” Candrea Thomas, who is a spokeswoman at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, said on Saturday. Space informs that the shuttle needs to be off the ground by July 14th at the latest, before it has to stand down again.
After the 14th of July, a Russian robotic truck is scheduled to deliver critical supplies to the six-astronaut crew aboard the ISS, and, as far as priorities go, Endeavor's flight is lower on the list than keeping the brave people in orbit well stocked with everything they need. If the launch attempt three weeks from now is not successful, NASA will ground the shuttle until July 27th, when the skies will be cleared for another one. However, there will be repercussions for this delay on future ISS assembly missions, such as the one in which shuttle Discovery is scheduled to fly on August 18th.
Engineers at the space agency believe that a misalignment in the vent line that carries away excess gaseous hydrogen from the shuttle's tanks to a burning flame about 300 meters away from the launch pad may have been the reason why the seals of the tank broke. Now, they are inspecting the line altogether, in an attempt to find the glitch. The line needs to have a straight and uninterrupted course, if the excess hydrogen is to be properly disposed of.