By Michael Rutschky
Published on November 21, 2007
After more than six hours of deliberation, the mission management team at Kennedy Space Center has decided not to allow space shuttle Atlantis to be launched before Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:21 p.m. EST. The statement implies that while there’s no possibility of it launching before it’s window on Sunday, the launch itself is of no guarantee.
The cause of the delay is random electrical trouble regarding the sensors in the shuttle’s liquid hydrogen fuel tank. Mission managers are investigating the wiring between the sensors and the shuttle’s onboard point-sensor box to check for an open circuit.
“As of today, no one has come forward with a good plan to improve our situation in a real hardware sense,” said Wayne Hale, the space shuttle program manager.
A possible solution was brought forth at the mission management team meeting that included changing the launch criteria to require all four sensors to be in working order prior to the launch rather than the usual criteria which allows for one faulty sensor. This comes in sharp contrast what was stated during the Dec. 6 press conference, in which officials discussed the allowing of only two sensors to be in working order.
“We don’t want to get launch fever,” said Hale, “we want to make sure that when we launch it’s safe.”
The new proposal also includes restricting the launch window from its typical five minute period to only one minute. This is a fuel-conserving measure that ensures that the shuttle will have enough fuel to carry out the necessary parts of its mission. Mission managers are also weighing the idea of launching without first determining the root cause of the sensor failures.
The announcement comes more than a day after mission STS-122’s original planned launch day. This brings the mission one day closer to the final day of its launch window, Thursday, Dec. 13.