During the preperation for the launch of the shuttle Atlantis, which is scheduled to take off on Friday, engineers noticed that the shuttle’s fuel tank was off on its measurements. This led the engineers to beleive that the fuel tank might have a leak, but when they inspected it they found no problems with it. NASA is praying that nothing will stop tha launch. Unfortuantely they are still considering that the weather will change on them and that their may be a labor strike.
NASA was able to resolve lingering concerns about lines connecting the external fuel tank to Atlantis on Wednesday and moved ahead with preparations for the first space shuttle launch of the year. Engineers concluded the problem was unique to Endeavour’s tank, which previously was attached to Atlantis in 2003 and then was disconnected after the Columbia disaster kept the shuttle fleet grounded for two and half years.
Leak tests on Atlantis also have shown no glitches. “We don’t have a reason to believe we have similar circumstances,” said LeRoy Cain, shuttle launch integration manager. Technicians planned to start fueling the shuttle’s power cells, and the vehicle’s payload doors were shut Tuesday. “Everything is in excellent shape,” said Robbie Ashley, the mission’s payload manager.
Another distraction for the launch is the prospect of 569 workers at the Kennedy Space Center going on strike as early as this weekend. The workers rejected a contract offer last weekend from United Space Alliance, the space agency’s primary contractor for preparing space shuttles for launch.
Few of the workers who might strike have any direct role in the final preparations for space shuttle launches, and NASA officials have said there are other employees who could fill the roles of striking workers if necessary. “We will not be compromised as it relates to the launch, post-launch or any of the work that we do,” Cain said.
The launch originally was set for mid-March but was postponed after a freak hail storm caused thousands of dings in the insulating foam on Atlantis’ external tank. Technicians spent more than two months making painstaking repairs to the tank. Hail and strong winds threatened the launch pad Wednesday afternoon as thunderstorms blew through the Kennedy Space Center. “We would have to be so unlucky to get more hail on this tank,” said launch director Mike Leinbach.
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