Discovery under protective cover at Florida launch pad. Photo Credit/NASA
Engineers are trouble shooting a small but toxic fuel leak in the Orbital Maneuvering System of the Shuttle Discovery, which is positioned on a Kennedy Space Center launching pad for a Nov. 1 lift off.
Shuttle managers are hopeful that a tightening of a half-dozen bolts this week at a flange joining the fuel lines for the twin maneuvering system rockets mounted on Discovery’s tail section will stop the leak of hydrazine.
If that doesn’t work, engineers plan to replace the flange seals. That task could be completed without affecting plans for an early November launching, NASA believes.
The space agency is scheduled to conduct a traditional Flight Readiness Review to establish a formal launch date on Oct. 25 at Kennedy.
If the Nov. 1 launching date holds, Discovery would lift off at 4:40 p.m., EDT. If mission cannot be launched by Nov. 5-6, the flight could be delayed until early December to avoid conflicts with other space station activities.
The 11-day mission is scheduled to be the final flight for Discovery, which entered NASA service on Aug. 30, 1984, flying the first of what will be a fleet leading 39 missions.
Discovery’s six-member crew has trained to deliver and equip the station with the Permanent Multipurpose Logistics Module, a storage compartment that can also house some scientific activities. The module was fashioned from Leonardo, a module used to haul supplies to and from the station in the shuttle’s cargo bay.
The shuttle will carry an external stowage platform with an array of external spare parts as well. The parts are intended to ensure station operations well after the final shuttle mission in 2011. Two spacewalks are planned.
Discovery will also deliver Robonaut 2, a humanoid robot that will remain a part of the station’s crew indefinitely. Shaped like a human upper torso, Robonaut 2 will be used to evaluate the safety of human and machine interactions inside the space station. Eventually, Robonaut 2 may join astronauts on a spacewalk.