national
Battalion/Pag-;
January 27,
Officials verify leakz ;
in shuttle’s engine f 11
United Press International
CAPE CANAVERAL —Offi
cials say there definitely is a fuel
leak in space shuttle Challen
ger’s main engine system, and
detective work needed to find
the elusive leak may delay the
craft’s maiden flight until late
March.
That delay in turn guaran
tees additional delays in two sub
sequent shuttle flights and
threatens plans for an interna
tional Spacelab mission Sept. 30.
Officials said a 24-second test
firing of the three main engines
Tuesday proved the flammable
hydrogen gas found in the shut
tle’s tail section during a similar
firing Dec. 18 came from a fuel
leak within the engine system.
Downcourt press
staff photo by Jorge Casari
Jackie Jones, left, and Lynette Joiner along with the rest Aggie Ladies play the University of Texas in Austin on
of the Texas A&M women’s basketball team were busy Saturday. The team’s next home game is Monday vs.
practicing Thursday in G. Rollie White coliseum. The Texas Tech.
It was a discovery officials
had hoped not to make, because
an internal leak could pose a fire
hazard during a real launch.
Just where the leak is remains a
mystery that has baffled en
gineers since December, despite
their best efforts.
Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson,
associate NASA administrator,
said he hopes a detailed analysis
of data from special instruments
installed for Tuesday’s test will
show at least which engine is
leaking.
“T hat will be a real detective
job, and one that will be diffi
cult,” he told a news conference.
Asked after the news confer
ence how much delay he ex
pected, Abrahamson replied:
“Two weeks minimum. I would
say between that and three to
four weeks.”
Challenger — second in
America’s fleet of space freigh
ters — originally had been sche
duled to blast off on its five-day
first flight Monday, carrying
astronauts Paul Weitz, Karol
Bobko, Donald Peterson and
Story Musgrave.
After the hydrogen buildup
was found in December, howev
er, the launch was postponed
until late February so Tuesday’s
repeat test could be conducted.
Abrahamson said a third test
firing may be required. He said
it might even be necessary to re
move one of Challenger’s en
gines and take it to a special test
site at Bay St. Louis, Miss., for a
checkout — a task that would
take three to four weeks.
At worst, Abrahamson said,
all three of Challenger’s engines
might have to be removed and
replaced with the slim
powerful engines fromtife
tie Columbia, which Ink United P
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