Shuttle cleared for launch after wire problem deemed minor

Endeavour at Cape Canaveral

February 8, 2000
Web posted at: 3:52 p.m. EST (2052 GMT)

By CNN Space Correspondent
Miles O'Brien

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- The inspection of a damaged sensor wire near the top of one of the space shuttle Endeavour's solid rocket boosters is complete. And NASA managers said it is so minor that the shuttle can fly with it as is.

After months of delay, Endeavour is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral on Friday. The countdown clock begins Tuesday.

The wiring harness is attached to a sensor that tells launch controllers if explosive devices that ignite are "armed" or in "safe" mode.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Space shuttle Star gazing

The shuttle cannot launch if the sensors, or their wiring, fail to operate during the countdown. The wiring and the sensors will be tested during the countdown, slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

The weather outlook is favorable for the first launch attempt -- a two-hour, 10-minute window that begins at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. Meteorologists predict only a one in five chance that weather will keep Endeavour on the ground.

The only weather concern now is a prediction of extreme gusty winds that could jeopardize an emergency landing at the Cape.

Should the shuttle not launch on Friday, NASA will try again about 24 hours later, but the weather is forecast to worsen significantly. There is a 70 percent chance that clouds, rain and wind will make conditions unfavorable for a weekend launch.

The six-person, multinational crew of Endeavour is slated to fly an 11-day radar-mapping mission that will create an unprecedented 3-D map of more than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface. The $600 million mission is spearheaded by the Pentagon.

The mission was originally scheduled to fly in September, but was delayed after NASA ordered a comprehensive wiring inspection and repair campaign for the entire shuttle fleet. The work was prompted by a short-circuit six seconds after the liftoff of Columbia in July. The short left the shuttle one failure away from losing an engine.

NASA re-scheduled the Endeavour launch for January 31. That liftoff was scuttled by bad weather and a technical problem that prompted NASA to replace the 65-pound Master Events Controller, which relays commands from the shuttle's on-board computers to the pyrotechnics on the rocket boosters and external fuel tank.

Damaged engine seal could delay Endeavour launch
January 28, 2000
Endeavour crew arrives in Florida for monster mapping mission
January 27, 2000
Endeavour captures Zarya module; connection next
December 6, 1998

NASA Homepage
NASA Human Spaceflight
Kennedy Space Center Home Page

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.