Shuttle rolled back to launch pad
Posted: Thu, Jun 16, 2005, 8:14 AM ET (1214 GMT)
NASA returned the space shuttle Discovery to its launch pad on Wednesday, the latest milestone towards the shuttle's return to flight next month. Discovery, mounted on its external tank and solid rocket boosters, left the Vehicle Assembly Building at around 2 am EDT (0600 GMT) Wednesday, arriving at Pad 39B a little more than ten hours later. The rollout took longer than normal because the crawler transporter traveled at below-average speed and stopped frequently so engineers could examine overheating bearings on the crawler. The shuttle had been earlier rolled out to the pad in April, when the shuttle's launch was scheduled for May, but the shuttle was sent back to the VAB to fix a potential ice buildup problem on the external tank that was only revealed in tests completed after the first rollout. The arrival of the shuttle at the latest major milestone in the return to flight, with a launch currently scheduled for between July 13-31. A launch date will be set during a flight readiness review on June 29-30.
NASA returned the space shuttle Discovery to its launch pad on Wednesday, the latest milestone towards the shuttle's return to flight next month. Discovery, mounted on its external tank and solid rocket boosters, left the Vehicle Assembly Building at around 2 am EDT (0600 GMT) Wednesday, arriving at Pad 39B a little more than ten hours later. The rollout took longer than normal because the crawler transporter traveled at below-average speed and stopped frequently so engineers could examine overheating bearings on the crawler. The shuttle had been earlier rolled out to the pad in April, when the shuttle's launch was scheduled for May, but the shuttle was sent back to the VAB to fix a potential ice buildup problem on the external tank that was only revealed in tests completed after the first rollout. The arrival of the shuttle at the latest major milestone in the return to flight, with a launch currently scheduled for between July 13-31. A launch date will be set during a flight readiness review on June 29-30.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, August 31
Houston, we have a problem. Who’s controlling space traffic?
Straight Arrow News — 4:12 am ET (0812 GMT) Winston Scott to Newsmax: Space Academy 'Well Needed'
NewsMax.com — 4:11 am ET (0811 GMT) What Is Trump’s U.S. Space Academy?
Time — 4:11 am ET (0811 GMT) NZ halves time to launch rockets in space goldrush
Radio New Zealand — 4:09 am ET (0809 GMT) 'A glorious dawn launch': NASA's newest space telescope has left the Earth
NPR — 4:06 am ET (0806 GMT) |
