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Faulty fuel gauge delays shuttle launch
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-15 06:09

A fuel gauge that mistakenly read full instead of empty forced National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to call off Wednesday's launch of the first shuttle flight in two-and-a half years, a bitter disappointment to the space agency in its bid to recover from the Columbia tragedy.


The Discovery crew pose for a photograph in this NASA handout photo. Seated (from left to right) Pilot James Kelly, Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence and Commander Eileen Collins. Standing (from left to right) Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas, Charles Camarda and Soichi Noguchi. Noguchi represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. [Reuters]
The launch was delayed until at least Saturday, and the postponement could last much longer depending on the repairs needed.

Shuttle managers said it was unclear whether Discovery could be fixed at the pad or would need to be returned to the hangar for more extensive repairs. They expected to have a better idea yesterday.

A similar problem cropped up intermittently during a fuelling test of Discovery back in April. The external fuel tank, along with cables and other electronics, were replaced, and even though NASA could not explain the failure, it thought the problem was resolved and pressed ahead with launch.

At a news conference of grim-faced NASA officials, deputy shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale defended that decision.
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