Crack On Discovery's Fuel Tank by Barbora Misakova

Discovery’s launch is endangered! As NASA informed, two cracks were discovered in its fuel tank on Wednesday and now it can cause complications to Discovery’s final voyage this year. These two tracks are each 9 inches long and were found on the exterior of the aluminum tank. They were found in the insulating foam that covers the 15-story tank that means that cracks are in the area that holds instruments. Even thought it has never happened before, NASA engineers believe the tank can be fixed on time. But no one can promise now, it will be repaired in time to meet a November 30 launch attempt. But Discovery had also another problem. It grounded on Friday by a hydr! ogen gas leak that cropped up during fueling. In the sphere of space research, there any little mistake can be mortally dangerous. There mustn’t be anything underestimated. That’s why NASA officials said they will not attempt another launch until the foam and tank are patched. However, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said it is possible they may have unknowingly launched shuttles in the past with these type of cracks in the tank. As he added, the tank is discarded once a shuttle reaches orbit and breaks up while plunging back through the atmosphere. Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA. Its first flight was in 1984 and now it is the oldest orbiter in service. Discovery must be flying by Dec. 6 otherwise the flight to the International Space Station will be off until approximately February.

related story (sgx18593): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101110/ap_on_sc/us_space_shuttl...

by Barbora Misakova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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