NASA technicians working to resolve small leak in the Space Shuttle Discovery

NASA technicians working to resolve small leak in the Space Shuttle Discovery

2010-10-19 08:05:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday announced that a small leak was found in the space shuttle Discovery and technicians are working on solving it.

The small leak was discovered in a propellant line for Discovery's orbital maneuvering system engines. The leak was found at a flange located at the interface where two propellant lines meet in the shuttle's AFT compartment.

The line carries a propellant called monomethyl hydrazine, one of the chemicals used to ignite the 6,000 pound-thrusts engines located on either side of the Discovery's tail above the three main engines.

Engineers and technicians working on Discovery at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will tighten the six bolts around the suspect flange and re-evaluate for leaks. If that does not work, the propellants inside the tanks will be removed and technicians will replace its primary and secondary seals.

The replacement of the two seals, if necessary, will not delay the Discovery's launch scheduled on November 1. However, Space Shuttle Program managers will make sure that the potential fixes are successful before going ahead with the countdown.

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