In a development that has space shuttle Endeavour starting to look a lot like the 4 month Discovery saga, NASA has announced yet another delay to the STS-134 mission. The latest time table: Endeavour will not lift off until May 16 at the earliest. For NASA and space enthusiasts the world over, this is yet another blow to pride as another shuttle is continually being grounded by mechanical trouble.
What was once one of the most hyped-up space missions in years suddenly became became a non-event on Friday, April 29. Space shuttle Endeavour, which was scheduled to lift off at 3:47pm EDT that day, was delayed because of mechanical problems with a heater on a backup power unit. In its initial statement, NASA estimated a weekend repair, with the shuttle being able to take off the following Monday. Unfortunately, repairs could not be completed in time, causing a further delay.
Now, as that week-long delay approaches its end, NASA made another announcement, this time stating that Endeavour will not lift off until May 16 at the earliest.
As for specifics regarding the problem, two heaters designed to keep the auxiliary power unit from freezing in space are not working properly. In terms of impact on the mission, the auxiliary power unit that failed is used to power the shuttle as it goes through the all-important stage of atmospheric reentry, which is, after launch, the most dangerous part of any shuttle mission. Without the heaters to keep it warm, chances are that the power unit itself would freeze and thus be rendered unable to operate.
Naturally, one of the most-hyped space missions in years, if not decades, has gone from being day-to-day to week-to-week.
First reason for the hype: wounded Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, who just happens to be married to NASA astronaut Mark Kelly who, by sheer chance, just so happened to be the already-named STS-134 commander prior to the Tucson shooting. After Giffords was shot, there arose intense media speculation over what Kelly would do: would he fly or skip the mission to be with his, at the time, gravely injured wife? As things turned out, Giffords has made a surprising recovery, so much so that not only did Kelly decide to fly, but that Rep. Giffords herself will be at Kennedy to watch the launch.
As a second added piece of drama to an already big story, the First Family was planning to be in attendance for the launch. In a surprising bit of trivia, this will mark only the third time a sitting president has witnessed the liftoff of a manned space mission. The two previous times: Richard Nixon in 1969 and Bill Clinton in 1998. For a nation that prides itself on being a leader in space, the fact that only two sitting presidents have ever watched a launch is rather surprising.
In conclusion, with the mission status now anything but certain, stay tuned here and to other space news websites for updates.
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