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Delta 4, shuttle launch on hold

By IRENE BROWN, UPI Science News

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Launch of Boeing's new expendable rocket, the Delta 4, is on hold, due to a technical problem and concerns about poor weather, company officials said Friday.

The delay is affecting the availability of the Eastern Test Range, which supplies safety and tracking services, to support NASA's launch of shuttle Endeavour, which had been scheduled for blastoff on Monday but was delayed due to an oxygen leak. NASA now plans to launch Endeavour no earlier than Nov. 22, but managers still are reviewing technical issues that may postpone the shuttle's launch beyond next week.

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Boeing had been targeting the inaugural flight of the Delta 4 for Saturday evening. However, concerns about a turbopump problem in the booster's upper-stage engine had not been adequately resolved by the time mission managers met to review the rocket's readiness for flight. Although those concerns are minor and would not delay the launch much beyond Saturday, Boeing's customer, Eutelsat, decided not to fly during the height of the annual Leonids meteor shower, which occurs on Sunday and Monday.

The new targeted launch date for the Delta 4 has been set for Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, across the river at the Kennedy Space Center, managers were meeting Friday afternoon to review analysis of what caused an oxygen line to leak in the shuttle Endeavour during Monday's final preparations for launch.

Technicians tracked the leak to a faulty piece of flexible hosing. With no signs of damage, however, engineers believe structure failure is to blame, raising concerns of other potentially leaky hoses elsewhere in the orbiter and in its sister ships. Workers on Friday began inspections of shuttle Discovery to see if they could find any similar flaws, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Bruce Buckingham.

Also Friday, reviews and analysis of potential damage to shuttle Endeavour's robot arm were under way. The arm was scuffed and its insulation torn during installation of work platforms so technicians could access the payload bay and look for the oxygen leak.

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