By DPA,
Washington : The delay-plagued space shuttle programme will have to hold off another three weeks before liftoff can occur, US space agency NASA announced Friday.
Shuttle programme managers had been aiming for a launch of the shuttle Discovery as early as Feb 3, nearly three months after technicians discovered cracks in the shuttle’s external fuel tank.
That mission, which is expected to be Discovery’s last before the shuttle fleet is retired, has now been put off until at least Feb 24, while engineers continue to study the problem and conduct repairs. More cracks were found using X-ray inspections last month.
“Progress continues to be made in understanding the most probable cause of cracks discovered on Discovery’s external tank mid-section, known as the intertank,” the NASA statement said.
NASA officials said they are working to coordinate the postponed launch with operations on the orbiting International Space Station, which Discovery is due to visit, and hope to announce a tentative blast-off date by next week.