14 DAY TRIAL // Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are currently testing to see whether the repair work conducted on the space shuttle Endeavour is solid, and if the orbiter can be sent to space next week.
At this point, NASA targets a launch date beyond May 10, but that may slip even further if the glitches discovered ahead of the planned, April 29 launch are not fixed entirely. The hardware damage affects a very important component of the shuttle.
Experts say that the reason the shuttle could not launch on time is a broken control box, which is in charge of sending current to two heaters located around a critically-important power unit, in the aft compartments of Endeavour.
This unit is one of the three power sources that the spacecraft's hydraulic systems are using during atmospheric reentry and landing. Without it, experts cannot guarantee the safety of the mission, Space reports.
On Wednesday, May 4, KSC engineers replaced the damaged box, called the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2), with a new one, which means that the problem should now be taken care of. However, a number of tests need to be conducted before the shuttle is cleared for launch.
“Technicians are trying to determine what caused the power box to fail. Initial testing from yesterday shows a driver (circuit) inside the LCA-2 shorted out,” NASA says in a recent press release.
“Managers will continue to evaluate the repair process and make any additional adjustments before scheduling Endeavour’s next launch attempt, which remains no earlier than May 10,” the document goes on to say.
Mission experts and top NASA officials will have another meeting today, May 6, during which they will discuss aspects related to how the repairs are proceeding, and also to the cause of the damage.
At the end of the meeting, the team will decide when to launch the shuttle. The date will also determine whether Atlantis' planned launch, on June 28, will be influenced by Endeavour's delay or not.
After completing the 14-day, STS-134 mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour will be retired to the California Science Center, in Los Angeles. The entire Space Shuttle Program will conclude when Atlantis finishes its last mission, STS-135, in early July.
When it launches, Endeavour will take the $1.5 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) particle detector to the ISS. This represents the last major addition to the station made by NASA and the US.