News From Space!

The launch has been pushed back to at least Friday. NASA reports:

Launch Decision Today
At a 6 p.m. briefing yesterday, NASA's STS-115 Mission Management Team announced that because of the fuel cell anomaly it would be prudent to spend another 24 hours to research the issue. The management team will meet again at 1 p.m. today to assess the data gathered about the fuel cell issue and decide whether the launch will take place on Friday.

"We want to fly a good mission, we want to fly a safe mission, we want to have a successful mission," said Wayne Hale, space shuttle program director.

Hale reported that more tests and analysis would be necessary because there has been no previous failure of this nature in the history of the program.

Deputy Orbiter Project Manager, Ed Mango said "We put together a huge amount of data, but it's not complete yet. We have to put all the data on the table and look at it." Mango also reported that the signature reading on the fuel cell cooling pump had never been seen before. "We'll need more time to understand what this signature really means," he said.

Weather Officer Lt. Col. Patrick Barrett reported that for a Friday launch day, Kennedy will experience much the same weather conditions as earlier this week. There may be some upper level clouds coming into the area during the early morning hours and a 30 percent chance of weather prohibiting launch continues over the next few days.

Space Shuttle Fuel Cells
The space shuttle's fuel cell system is made up of three cells, which are located under the payload bay liner in the forward portion of the orbiter's midfuselage. Each 255-pound reusable cell is 14 inches high, 15 inches wide and 40 inches long. The three cells operate as independent electrical power sources that generate heat and water as by-products of the power generation. The water is stored and used for the environmental control and life support system.
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