More frustration plagues NASA as engineers drudge through the fuel sensor problems, which have delayed the shuttle launch well over a week. While delays have occurred frequently for various missions throughout the shuttle program’s history, the eyes of the world remain on Cape Kennedy for the first launch since Columbia.
Program Deputy Manager Wayne Hale explained during a Monday news conference, “This team is persistent and energetic and we will conquer this problem too. Once the problem is resolved the next opportunity to tank the vehicle would be Tuesday, the 26th of July.”
No shuttle has flown since the Columbia broke up in its descent back in April 2003. All hands were lost. Many changes were made to the program and this mission was billed as a test flight to test some of those new changes and procedures. The mission would also take much needed equipment and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The future of the ISS hinges on the ability of NASA to get the remaining shuttles back in the air and up to the station.
A number of modules from various participating countries remain locked in a hangar, waiting for the shuttle program to resume. The Columbia disaster shaved off crucial time for the future of the ISS. Participating nations watch anxiously, concerned about the future of the ISS mission.
The current window for launch continues to shrink though as NASA said the next opportunity to fly Discovery would be July 26th. That would give them a five-day window to fly. If it doesn’t happen by the 31st, then September will be the next available day launch period.
The problem lies in one of four small sensors that monitor fuel levels in the shuttle tanks. When the fuel gets to a certain level, the sensor sends a command to shut the engines down. The engines weren’t designed to run dry. If they were to run dry, it would cause irreparable damage to the shuttle engines and really do a number on the program. In layman’s terms, imagine your car running out of oil and the engine seizes up. You basically have to put a new engine. That gets painful and expensive for your average car owner. The shuttle is a whole new league and most mechanics can’t fix that.
NASA still has every intention of putting the Discovery back in the sky. Hope still persists but as each new problem crept up, the world watching gets more anxious and more impatient. We watch and we wait while our mechanics work on the problem. I wonder if they could come and get us when the thing’s fixed.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
