NASA called off its attempt to launch the final voyage of the space shuttle Endeavour today (April 29) because of a malfunction in one of the spacecraft's critical power units.
Two heaters on one of Endeavour's auxiliary power units, which power hydraulics systems on the shuttle during its return to Earth, failed this morning, rendering the unit useless. Though Endeavour has a total of three units, NASA needs working spares of these critical systems.
"There's not a way to do the troubleshooting we need to do and stay in a countdown configuration," NASA spokesman George Diller said. "It will be at least a 48-hour scrub turnaround."
The next chance to launch Endeavour comes Sunday (May 1) at 2:59 p.m. EDT (1859 GMT) from Launch Pad 39A here at Kennedy Space Center. However, NASA must first troubleshoot the power unit failure before it can set a new launch date. [Photos: Shuttle Endeavour's Final Voyage]
"We will put together a troubleshooting plan," Diller said.
NASA called off today's launch at 12:19 p.m. EDT, after Endeavour was fully fueled and the astronauts were suited up in their bright orange launch and entry suits.
The launch delay likely disappointed the throngs of spectators that flooded the launch viewing sites around the Kennedy Space Center with hopes of seeing one of NASA's final space shuttle launches before the 30-year-old shuttle fleet is retired for good later this year. The space agency expected up to 750,000 spectators for Endeavour's launch.
Among the disappointed hopeful viewers of the launch are President Barack Obama and his family, who were planning to watch Friday's shuttle liftoff. There's no word yet on whether Obama will still attend the next launch attempt.
0 comments:
Post a Comment