CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) NASA has decided to remove andinspect engine pumps aboard the shuttle Discovery, revising thelaunch preparation schedule and making it virtually impossible tomeet an Aug. 4 target date for the first post-Challenger launching,sources say.
While Aug. 4 remains the official target, the launching schedulehas been so severely compressed that there is no time left to handleunexpected problems.
A National Aeronautics and Space Administration managementmeeting April 14 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston is expectedto produce a new launching target date. Sources said last week thatAug. 11 was a possibility.
The decision to remove the engine pumps was made last week,agency sources said, to make sure critical bolts in the powerfulpumps were tightened just the right amount. Should the threads on abolt be stripped, it could back out during engine operation, whichcould prove disastrous.
There is no evidence any bolts actually are stripped, but NASAis taking no chances.
Meanwhile, a NASA spokesman said Saturday that a stress testshowed the space shuttle's redesigned solid-fuel booster rocketsapparently can withstand the weight of the orbiter and launchingpressures, and then some.
The structural load test was another step in certifying thespace shuttle for flight, said Ed Medal.
Hydraulic systems were used to apply pressures to a shortenedsolid-fuel booster. The test section was subjected to forcesequaling 150 percent of those normally experienced in launching, hesaid.
"Detailed analysis of the load condition will be conducted . . .over the next several weeks," he said. "But it appears the test wassuccessful in demonstrating the capability required with reserve forreturning the shuttle to flight status."
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