NASA Shuttle Launch Targeted for No Earlier Than March 15

March 11, 2009

Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749
katherine.trinidad@xxxxxxxx

Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@xxxxxxxx

RELEASE: 09-059

NASA SHUTTLE LAUNCH TARGETED FOR NO EARLIER THAN MARCH 15


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery's launch to the
International Space Station now is targeted for no earlier than March
15. NASA managers postponed Wednesday's planned liftoff due to a leak
associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the
external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen
safely away from the launch pad.

Liftoff on March 15 would be at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The exact launch date
is dependent on the work necessary to repair the problem. Managers
will meet Thursday at 4 p.m. to further assess the troubleshooting
plan.

Discovery's STS-119 flight is delivering 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.

For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and its crew,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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