Endeavour Clears Hurdle For July 11 Launch

A test fueling of space shuttle Endeavour's external tank revealed no gaseous hydrogen leaks, verifying recent repairs were successful, NASA managers confirmed during a Wednesday afternoon news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The tanking test began at 0652 EDT Wednesday. During the next three hours, teams in the Launch Control Center watched closely for signs of a leak as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen poured into the massive orange tank. Previous attempts to launch Endeavour on the STS-127 mission were scrubbed by a leak in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to the external tank. Crews worked to investigate and repair the problem.

"There were absolutely no leak indications whatsoever noted on the two leak detectors," said Launch Director Pete Nickolenko. "We'll continue to look at the data, and our next step is to move toward launch."

Endeavour's launch is targeted for July 11 at 1939 EDT.

FMI: www.nasa.gov