Endeavour Launch Scrubbed
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By Madhu Unnikrishnan
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- NASA scrubbed the launch of STS-127, the space shuttle Endeavour, this morning (13) at 12:25 a.m. EST. The launch, originally planned for 7:17 a.m., is now pushed back to at least July 17, NASA says.
A leak of gaseous hydrogen from the ground umbilical plate, venting fuel from the external fuel tank, was discovered this morning. This is similar to what scrubbed STS-119 in March. The mission management team will meet tomorrow at 2 p.m. to discuss the nature of the leak and the next launch opportunity.
The leak requires a 96-hour scrub turnaround, pushing Endeavour’s launch. On June 17, the lunar reconnaissance orbiter is scheduled to launch, but shuttle mission management is discussing whether to launch STS-127 that day instead. The other option is to launch STS-127 on June 20. After that, the next launch window is July 17.
Fueling was 98% complete when the leak was discovered. NASA will not be able to look further into the causes of the leak for 24 hours -- or until 12 a.m. June 14 -- as fuel is boiled off and the tank is inerted, a NASA spokesman told AviationWeek.com.
The crew of STS-127 will remain on site and quarantined, he said.
Photo: NASA
