Next Shuttle Launch Date Likely to Slip To Add More Foam Tests
The launch date for the next shuttle mission will probably slip to the last week of August in order to allow NASA to conduct additional tests of the foam on Discovery’s external tank. Bill Harwood of CBS News’ Space Place reports that shuttle engineers want 125 more “plug-pull” tests to add to the 26 they have done already in order to ensure a statistically significant result. Greater than expected foam loss was experienced on the most recent shuttle mission, but NASA has determined that the resulting damage to the space shuttle orbiter was minor and does not pose reentry problems.
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