Weather now only obstacle to shuttle launch
Posted: Thu, Dec 7, 2006, 6:28 AM ET (1128 GMT)
Shuttle officials said Wednesday that they had resolved two technical problems that threatened to postpone the launch of Discovery, but a degrading weather forecast could still keep the shuttle on the ground Thursday night. Engineers concluded that a brief power surge in the shuttle's electrical system on Tuesday did no damage, and that a potential problem with glue used in insulation in SRB joints did not affect the boosters that will be used to launch Discovery. While those technical issues were resolved, updated forecasts called for only a 40-percent chance of acceptable weather, down from 80 percent earlier in the week, because of low clouds. Weather conditions are also forecast to be poor through Saturday.
Shuttle officials said Wednesday that they had resolved two technical problems that threatened to postpone the launch of Discovery, but a degrading weather forecast could still keep the shuttle on the ground Thursday night. Engineers concluded that a brief power surge in the shuttle's electrical system on Tuesday did no damage, and that a potential problem with glue used in insulation in SRB joints did not affect the boosters that will be used to launch Discovery. While those technical issues were resolved, updated forecasts called for only a 40-percent chance of acceptable weather, down from 80 percent earlier in the week, because of low clouds. Weather conditions are also forecast to be poor through Saturday.
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