[sarex] Shuttle Scrub Details

[Roy Neal <k6due@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wind Delays Discovery Liftoff

                     By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

                     CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - With gusts exceeding
                     50 mph at the pad, NASA (news - web sites) bumped
                     the launch of space shuttle Discovery to Tuesday
despite
                     forecasts calling for more blustery weather.

                     It was the second delay in five days for NASA's
100th
                     space shuttle flight, an ambitious space station
      construction mission. Last week's postponement was caused by a
sluggish
      valve and suspect bolts.

      The space agency called off Monday night's launch attempt 11 hours
in
      advance.

      High wind prevented technicians from moving a vent hood into
position over
      the external fuel tank, part of the preparation for filling the
tank. The wind
      limit is 48 mph, and gusts reached more than 51 mph, said NASA
      spokesman Bruce Buckingham.

      The hood, which NASA refers to as the ``beanie cap,'' is used
during and
      after fueling to remove gaseous oxygen venting from the tip of the
fuel tank. It
      is swung back two minutes before liftoff.

      If the gas were allowed to hover, frost would form on the tank and
could turn
      into dangerous chunks of ice.

      The crew's six Americans and one Japanese have been training for
this
      mission for three years, much longer than usual. Russia's delays
in building
      and then launching the space station's living quarters kept
postponing
      Discovery's flight.

      During the 11-day mission, the astronauts will attach two new
segments to
      the international space station. Until that is completed, no one
can move in.

      The launch of the space station's first permanent crew is set for
Oct. 30 from
      Kazakstan.

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