Spaceflight
By Rob Coppinger in Orlando
NASA inspectors found a crack in the foam insulation of the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank early today.
Saturday's planned launch was postponed due to bad weather over Kennedy Space Center. The date chose, Tuesday 4 July, was seen by some as being symbolic for the return to service of the Shuttle, as it coincides with the date of the start of the American Revolution, a national holiday in the USA.
The results of a routine inspection could further retard the launch of mission STS-121. "We don't know if [the foam crack] is a problem or not," says NASA.
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Space Shuttle Discovery on the hardstand of launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center today (above) |
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