* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: STS-133

Blobrana · L

Stormy weather prompts 24-hour launch delay

With rain showers and low clouds sweeping over NASA's Florida spaceport, agency managers decided early Thursday not to fuel the shuttle Discovery, delaying launch another 24 hours to Friday at 3:04 p.m. EDT. While conditions will improve in the wake of a cold front, forecasters are predicting a 40 percent chance of high winds that could cause another scrub.
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Blobrana · L

The Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team decided to delay by at least one day the launch of shuttle Discovery to begin its 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

Blobrana · L

Discovery on Target for Launch Wednesday

The Countdown to launch continues as the Space Shuttle Program's Mission Management Team votes unanimously to proceed toward Discovery's re-targeted Wednesday liftoff at 3:52 p.m. Eastern. On the launch pad, technicians load oxygen and hydrogen into the system that gives Discovery its electrical power during the mission.

Blobrana · L

Overnight, work continued to prepare space shuttle Discovery for its targeted launch at 3:52 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd. Launch countdown is scheduled to begin Sunday at 2 p.m.

Blobrana · L

NASA managers decided Saturday to delay the shuttle Discovery's launch an additional day to Wednesday to give engineers enough time to complete replacement and retest of leaky quick-disconnect fittings in the ship's right-side orbital manoeuvring system rocket pod.
If all goes well, Discovery's countdown will begin at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday (GMT=EDT+4), setting up a launch attempt at 3:52:13 p.m. Wednesday, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries launch pad 39A into the plane of the space station's orbit.
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Blobrana · L

The launch of space shuttle Discovery is now targeted for 3:52 p.m. EDT Wednesday, after technicians worked overnight to repair helium and nitrogen leaks in Discovery's right-hand Orbital Manoeuvring System pod.

Blobrana · L

The launch of space shuttle Discovery now is targeted for Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 4:17 p.m. EDT.
Helium and nitrogen leaks found in the pressurization portion of space shuttle Discovery's right-hand Orbital Manoeuvring System (OMS) pod must be fixed before launch and the decision was made to delay picking up the launch countdown by at least a day.

Blobrana · L

NASA Announces STS-133 Prelaunch Events And Countdown Details

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has set the news conferences, events and operating hours for the news center for the final scheduled launch of space shuttle Discovery.
The spacecraft's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off at 20:40 GMT on Monday, Nov. 1
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Blobrana · L

Engineers troubleshooting a small fuel leak aboard the shuttle Discovery decided Monday to carry out additional tests before more invasive and time-consuming work to replace a suspect seal, officials said.
After an afternoon engineering review, troubleshooters were asked to double-check the torque on six bolts around a presumably leaky flange fitting and tighten if necessary. If subsequent leak tests show no more signs of seepage, a NASA spokeswoman said, Discovery could be cleared for launch as is.
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