NASA postpones space shuttle Discovery´s launch due to gas leak

Source: Xinhua | 03-12-2009 08:07

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The launch of U.S. space shuttle Discovery was postponed again on Wednesday due to a hydrogen gas leak found several hours before its scheduled liftoff, NASA said.

Space Shuttle Discovery sits on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Station, Fla. ready for launch Wednesday March 11, 2009.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

"The STS-119 launch was scrubbed at 2:37 p.m. EDT (1837 GMT) due to a hydrogen leak in a liquid hydrogen vent line between the shuttle and the external tank," NASA said in a statement.

The vent line is at the intertank region of the external tank and is the overboard vent to the pad and the flare stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off.

The launch team is resetting to preserve the option of attempting a Thursday night liftoff at 8:54 p.m. EDT (0054 GMT March 13) depending on what repairs are needed and what managers decide. The Mission Management Team is meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the issue, according to the statement posted on NASA's website.

Ground crews have begun to unload the liquid hydrogen fuel from the tank to lower the pressure so they can study the situation more. NASA space shuttles uses super-chilled liquid hydrogen propellant and liquid oxygen oxidizer to feed their three main engines during launch.

"Teams are going to get together and assess the repair options," said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.

The leak was discovered at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), about two hours after ground crews began filling the shuttle's massive orange external fuel tank. The problem forced them to halt fueling immediately.