spacetoday.net: Shuttle oxygen leak under investigation

Posted: Fri, Dec 9, 2005, 6:48 AM ET (1148 GMT)
STS-114: launch (NASA)

Shuttle engineers are investigating data that indicates that an oxygen leak took place in the engine compartment during July's launch of the shuttle Discovery, a leak that could have endangered the orbiter. The leak was discovered when engineers analyzed the contents of "catch bottles" in the engine compartment that collect air samples there during flight. Two of the six bottles collected high concentrations of oxygen about two minutes into Discovery's flight. However, engineers have not been able to determine if a leak actually took place during the flight, let alone where. A buildup of oxygen in the compartment could have led to a fire, although there is no evidence that the shuttle was in danger at any point during its mission. Shuttle officials believe that this issue will not pose a problem to returning the shuttle to flight next May, but still plan to investigate and close the issue before that launch.