A technician tests circuitry inside the engine compartment of shuttle Endeavour. Technicians expect to replace the faulty Aft Load Control Assembly 2, an electronics box, to prepare the shuttle for a second launch attempt. Photo Credit/NASA Photo
May 10 is the soonest shuttle Endeavour will be ready for a second bid to begin her final mission, a two week journey to the International Space Station with a crew of six astronauts and the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.
Mission managers for NASA’s shuttle and space station programs made the call late Monday, a day after May 8 seemed to be the “earliest possible” launch date.
At the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launch site, shuttle teams are in the midst of troubleshooting and making repairs to the heater system for Endeavour’s Auxiliary Power Unit No. 1.
The difficulties, traced to an electronics box in the shuttle’s engine compartment, prompted a launch scrub of Endeavour’s first launch attempt on Friday.
The 40 pound box, which houses a large number of switches to control power to shuttle environmental control, life support as well as hydraulic and steering systems, is in the process of being removed, replaced and re-tested.
Mission managers expect to reconvene on Friday to make another launch date assessment.
If they stick with May 10, Endeavour’s lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center would be set for 11:21 a.m., EDT.
As of early this week, Endeavour’s launch period extends through May 29.
Endeavour commander Mark Kelly, pilot Greg H. Johnson and mission specialists Mike Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Drew Feustel and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency have returned to Houston to resume mission preparations at the Johnson Space Center.
The AMS is a one of a kind particle detector, developed through the efforts of 16 nations, to study the composition of the universe at the sub atomic level. Two goals are to characterize primordial anti-matter and dark matter.
The shuttle crew will also equip the station with an external platform holding spare parts for the communications, electrical and communications systems. The shuttle astronauts plan four spacewalks as well.
Mission managers would like to extend the flight from 14 to 16 days.