Shuttle Launch Delayed
Maybe tomorrow? The AP reports:
NASA postponed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis by another day after discovering a problem with a fuel cell early Wednesday.
The fueling process had yet to start when one of three cells that provide electricity to Atlantis malfunctioned. The space agency planned to further examine the problem, and if possible try to launch at 12:03 p.m. EDT Thursday.
"The launch rules say you need to have three good, operating fuel cells," said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. "We’re going to see if it’s something that’s a real problem or whether it’s something we can rectify."
The problem was discovered shortly before an overnight meeting to decide whether to start pumping the shuttle’s fuel tank with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. When the shuttle’s fuel cells were powered up, a low voltage reading came from one of the units, and the other two spiked up to compensate.
