Shuttle Launch Delayed Again

Shuttle Atlantis is again delayed, this time to a faulty fuel cell that is reading as if it has a short in a coolant motor. Fortunately, they detected the problem before fueling the orbiter, saving the trouble to have to pump out the super-cold propellant. They are hoping to resolve the issue in time to launch tomorrow.

"According to NASA flight rules, all three of Atlantis' fuel cells must be functioning properly before the shuttle can launch. Engineers are drawing up options to work around, repair or replace the hardware, shuttle officials said."

If extensive repairs are needed, the mission may miss its launch window, which closes Sep 8 due to an agreement with the Russian space agency which is launching a Soyuz craft to the ISS later this month. The mission could be delayed out to Oct 26, unless the agency decides to relax its restriction to only launch during the day due to the desire to examine and the evaluate the fuel tank modifications made after the Columbia tragedy. If a night launch is permitted, it could launch as soon as Sep 29.