NASA tests shuttle external tank
Posted: Sat, May 21, 2005, 5:49 AM ET (0949 GMT)
NASA officials pronounced Friday's fueling test of the space shuttle external tank a success, but still need to examine the data to see if they have resolved two problems previously noted with the tank. The tank, still attached to the shuttle Discovery and twin solid rocket motors on the launch pad, was filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen in an effort to resolve two problems found during a similar tanking test last month. During Friday's test engineers did not have problems with intermittent readings from fuel cutoff sensors experienced during April's test. However, a pressure relief valve opened and closed more frequently than normal, a phenomenon also noted during the previous test. However, engineers were able to clear a new heater installed on a strut as the cause of the valve cycling. Officials said after the test that they remained confident that the shuttle would be ready for launch in a window that opens in mid-July.
NASA officials pronounced Friday's fueling test of the space shuttle external tank a success, but still need to examine the data to see if they have resolved two problems previously noted with the tank. The tank, still attached to the shuttle Discovery and twin solid rocket motors on the launch pad, was filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen in an effort to resolve two problems found during a similar tanking test last month. During Friday's test engineers did not have problems with intermittent readings from fuel cutoff sensors experienced during April's test. However, a pressure relief valve opened and closed more frequently than normal, a phenomenon also noted during the previous test. However, engineers were able to clear a new heater installed on a strut as the cause of the valve cycling. Officials said after the test that they remained confident that the shuttle would be ready for launch in a window that opens in mid-July.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
ViaSat taps Boeing for next-generation broadband satellite
Posted: Fri, May 17 9:00 AM ET (1300 GMT) Reaction wheel fails on Kepler, putting mission's future in question
Posted: Thu, May 16 6:50 AM ET (1050 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, May 18
Mars Rover Opportunity Examines Clay Clues in Rock
NASA/JPL — 9:44 am ET (1344 GMT) 7 lessons from Commander Hadfield
Ottawa Citizen — 9:33 am ET (1333 GMT) How the Maple Leafs broke an astronaut’s hockey-loving heart
Canadian Press — 9:29 am ET (1329 GMT) So, is astronaut Chris Hadfield interested in politics?
Canadian Press — 9:28 am ET (1328 GMT) The science non-fiction of Commander Chris Hadfield’s ‘Space Oddity’
OUPblog — 9:28 am ET (1328 GMT) |
