NASA has once again delayed the shuttle launch until the end of the month for repairs related to a hydrogen gas leak. As PC Magazine reports:
The hydrogen leak was discovered early this morning as the crew was fueling Discovery for a planned Friday launch. It occurred at the Ground Umbilical Center Plate (GUCP) that attaches to the external tank; the GUCP carries gaseous hydrogen safely away from the shuttle to a flare stack, where it burns off, according to NASA.
This is the fourth delay in a week for the Discovery’s mission to the International Space Station. NASA will have to delay the launch until November 30th due to the sun’s angle, which would not sufficiently heat the shuttle, for the next few weeks. No better way to pass the time until blastoff then checking out KUT’s features on NASA.