KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Technicians at Kennedy Space Center accessed a gaseous hydrogen vent system at the launch pad to begin work to fix a leak that scuttled space shuttle Endeavour's countdown early Saturday morning. The repairs could lead to liftoff early Wednesday morning if a conflict can be resolved with the scheduled launch of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from the Air Force's Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral.
IMAGES OF GUCP WORK IN PROGRESS VIDEO: POST-MMT MEETING NEWS CONFERENCE This morning, workers extended an access platform from the Fixed Service Structure to gain access to the GUCP which is located on the side of the external tank behind the left-hand solid rocket booster. The vent arm was moved out of the way to clear the area for accessing the GUCP and repair work began this afternoon. Meanwhile, the shuttle program Mission Management Team met this afternoon to discuss the repair work and set a new launch date for Endeavour. The shuttle could launch as early as June 17 or it could end up being delayed until July 11. The problem with June 17 is the fact that there is already a launch booked on the Eastern Range, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Sateliite (LRO/LCROSS). The Air Force requires at least 24 hours between launches to give time for tracking stations and other assets to be reconfigured for different launch vehicles. That means either Endeavour or LRO/LCROSS will have to defer to the other. "As you know, we have a range conflict on June 17th," said space shuttle deputy program manager Leroy Cain at a press briefing following today's meeting of the shuttle Mission Management Team. "We currently have another NASA mission, the Atlas 5 LRO/LCROSS mission is officially on the range schedule for the 17th, and so we began having some discussions inside the agency about the priorities of the missions and how we could maximize the launch opportunities for both these missions." A final decision on what spacecraft will launch first won't be made until tomorrow, the point at which the Air Force needs to start configuring the range. The current plan in work is to target Endeavour for launch on Wednesday and then the Atlas rocket on Friday or Saturday. By launching Endeavour first, NASA can maximize the LRO/LCROSS and shuttle launch windows which both close on Saturday. If the Atlas were to launch first, it would give Endeavour only Saturday to get off the ground because of the early morning launch time. "If the shuttle goes first on the 17th, then the most opportunities that we can give LRO is two and that would be on the 19th and 20th," said Cain. "If LRO goes first on the 17th, then the most opportunities we could give for the shuttle is one opportunity and that would be on the 20th. The reason for the difference is because of the range reconfiguration time between shuttle and LRO and vice-versa and the fact that their launch time is late in the afternoon and ours is early in the morning." All of this assumes that the GUCP repairs are effective at eliminating the hydrogen leak. As with STS-119, NASA won't know if the repairs work until the tank is filled before launch. Endeavour's launch window opens at 5:35 a.m. EDT on June 17, with a preferred launch time of 5:40 a.m. The weather forecast calls for a 70% chance of acceptable weather at launch time and a concern for low clouds and rain in the area. The forecast probabilities increase to 80% by Saturday. (The Spacearium / Space Media Corporation)
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