Discovery shuttle not to fly to ISS in early Feb, launch postponed.

NEW YORK, January 8 (Itar-Tass) -- NASA continues to delay the last
flight of the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station
that was originally scheduled for late 2010.
The last announced launch date - February 3 - is no longer seen in the
space agency as feasible.
As NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said on Friday, specialists need more
time to complete repairs on the external fuel tank of the spacecraft. The
launch window opens on February 27, but the shuttle may be launched a few
days earlier, Beutel noted.
The launch of the Discovery, which originally was to be carried out on
November 1 last year, has been postponed several times due to faults.
First it was delayed for 2 days after hydrogen leakage was detected in one
of the manoeuvring engines. Then, on November 5, the U.S. space agency
decided to shift the launch because of a new leak that occurred in the
piping between the craft's external fuel tank and the fuel system. In the
work to remove the trouble, a few cracks were discovered in the outer
layer of the tank insulation.
After it became clear that the cracks in the tank could not be
repaired on the launch pad, the Discovery in early December was moved to
the assembly and test facility, where the repair work is underway at
present. NASA engineers still can not figure out what caused so much
damage in the insulating layer. According to Beutel, the most likely cause
of their occurrence is a manufacturing defect.
The Discovery is expected to carry a crew of six American astronauts
to the ISS. The main task of the 11-day mission of the shuttle is to
deliver a large number of cargoes to the space station. Besides, two
astronauts will carry out two spacewalks to conduct maintenance works on
the equipment installed on the ISS surface. They will fix a special
platform with spare parts for the ISS power supply system.
The planned mission will be the 39th and the last for the Discovery,
which will be the first of the remaining U.S. spacecraft to retire and
become an exhibit at an American museum.



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