Now Targeted For No Earlier Than February 27

NASA let slip Friday the planned launch date for the shuttle Discovery has slipped yet again... to no earlier than February 27.

As ANN reported earlier this month, NASA pushed off the launch of the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station -- originally targeted for February 12 -- by 10 days due to ongoing difficulties with the three flow valves that manage the gaseous hydrogen burned by the shuttle's three main engines during liftoff.

Those valves, which control pressure inside the shuttle's external fuel tank during launch, were found to be damaged on the shuttle Endeavour after it returned safely to Earth in November.

NASA replaced the valves to be used during Discovery's launch, and the agency says its engineering teams have made "significant progress in understanding what caused the damage" to Endeavour. More time is needed, however, to properly determine the consequences if a piece of a valve were to break off and strike shuttle and external fuel tank components.

The agency plans to hold a news conference on February 20, following a review of Discovery's readiness for flight and an assessment of shuttle flow control valve testing, to hopefully establish a firm launch date. An official launch date for the STS-119 mission has not been set, but for planning purposes, liftoff now is targeted for no earlier than February 27.

NASA adds that new planning date is not expected to affect the launch dates for missions that will follow Discovery's flight, STS-125 to the Hubble Space Telescope and STS-127 to the International Space Station.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle