Next NASA Shuttle Set To Explode On Independence Day

Poor weather conditions have prevented the shuttle Discovery from
launching for the second day running.

Nasa went through the business of preparing the orbiter on Sunday but
scrubbed the flight when it became obvious lift-off was a "no go".

Sending Discovery up through the stormy clouds around Cape Canaveral
would have been a violation of launch rules.

The US space agency has decided to give the flight preparation teams a
rest day before another attempt on Tuesday.

"We've concluded that we're not going to have a chance to launch
today," launch director Mike Leinbach, quoted by AP, told the
Discovery crew as they sat strapped into their shuttle seats.

"OK, we copy," said shuttle commander Steve Lindsey. "Looking out the
window, it doesn't look good today, and we think that's a great plan."

If the orbiter does not get away by Wednesday, a hydrogen fuel cell
system used to generate electricity on the shuttle in space would need
to be replenished. This would push the launch even further back into
the coming week.

Nasa, though, has a sizeable time period in which to get Discovery and
its crew of seven astronauts airborne.

The demand for a daylight lift-off combined with the right orbital
opportunity to reach the International Space Station (ISS) affords the
ship a launch window that runs until 19 July.

Discovery plans to spend just under two weeks at the orbiting
outpost, to deliver supplies and equipment.

It will also drop off German Thomas Reiter who will become the first
European Space Agency astronaut to experience an extended tour of six
months on the ISS.

The primary task of this mission, however, is to test safety systems
introduced following the loss of the Columbia shuttle and its crew of
seven in February 2003.

A suitcase-sized chunk of insulation foam broke away from the ship's
external tank on lift-off and punched a hole in the vehicle's left
wing.

This allowed super-heated gases to enter the orbiter's structure and
tear it apart as it made its descent towards Earth.

Following that disastrous event, Nasa has redesigned the external
tank. It was even forced to make further changes when foam was also
shed during the first post-Columbia launch in July 2005.

Another vehicle loss would almost certainly shut down the shuttle
programme, which is due to be retired anyway in 2010.

It would also leave the half-finished ISS project in crisis as the
orbiter fleet has been integral to its construction.










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