Launch Window Updated

[Guest Glenn]

Source: Nasa Website

 

Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-114 mission now has a targeted launch date of May 22, with a launch window extending to June 3.

 

With Discovery now at the launch pad, workers at Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully completed the next crucial step in the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight -- a tanking test of Discovery's redesigned External Tank.

 

Last week, ground crews filled Discovery's External Tank with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel to evaluate how all the systems perform under "cryo-load" -- the condition when the tank is filled with ultralow-temperature oxygen and hydrogen. Throughout the day, crews readied the orbiter's main propulsion system while the launch team took the opportunity to inspect hardware.

 

Another milestone in the Shuttle's Return to Flight was reached April 14 with the hatch closure of Raffaello, an Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module that will carry supplies and experiments to and from the International Space Station.

 

The Space Shuttle and its External Tank have undergone dozens of modifications in preparation for Return to Flight. The updates to the Shuttle system come in response to the Columbia accident and recommendations from accident investigators.

 

 

[Guest Ultralights]

cant wait to see her fly again! hopefully in a few yrs i will get over there to see a launch