spacetoday.net: NASA studying shuttle antenna bolt problem

Posted: Tue, Aug 15, 2006, 7:27 AM ET (1127 GMT)

NASA shuttle engineers are studying whether bolts that hold an antenna in place on the shuttle Atlantis needs to be replaced, a task that could delay this month's scheduled launch. Engineers are concerned that the bolts that hold the Ku-band antenna in place in the shuttle's cargo bay may not be threaded tightly enough. If the bolts came loose during launch, they and the antenna would fall the length of the shuttle's cargo bay and could cause "catastrophic" damage upon impact. Replacing the bolts on the launch pad would be possible but difficult, although NASA officials believed that it could be done without impacting the planned shuttle launch date. Atlantis is currently scheduled to lift off on mission STS-115 on August 27; an official launch date will be announced after a flight readiness review concludes Wednesday.