NASA Delays Discovery's Final Launch to February

摘要

NASA decided Dec. 3 to postpone the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery's final mission until February, the latest in a long string of delays that have kept the spacecraft grounded for more than a month.rnDiscovery is now slated to launch no earlier than Feb. 3, giving NASA engineers more time to complete work to analyze why small cracks developed in the shuttle's external fuel tank. The cracks - which appeared on U-shaped aluminum brackets called stringers - have since been repaired, but NASA wants to make sure similar issues do not pose a future concern.rnBecause of the delay, NASA now expects to launch Space Shuttle Endeavour no sooner than April 1 on its mission to deliver the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the international space station. That mission had been scheduled for Feb. 27. Launch of NASA's final planned shuttle mission, the congressionally mandated STS-135 flight, remains targeted for no sooner than June.