The crew of space mission STS-119 pose in front of shuttle Discovery on the launch pad.
Shuttle mission delayed by fuel leak
13 Mar 2009
NASA has had to postpone Thursday's space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station until March 16 (Sydney time), due to a hydrogen fuel leak. The leak was associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system on the outside of the external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad.
Lift-off on March 16 would be at 10:43am Sydney time (7:43pm on March 15, US EDT). The exact launch date is dependent on the work necessary to repair the problem. Managers were due to meet yesterday to further assess the troubleshooting plan.
Discovery's STS-119 flight will deliver the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May.
The 14-day mission will feature four spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and the deployment of its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water.
Commander Lee Archambault is joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009.
Adapted from information issued by NASA.
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