| NEWS
| July 14, 2005
Nation
Faulty fuel sensor delays launch
A watch party at KC Hall is moved
to Monday due to NASA’s launch cancellation.
By Tracie
Morales
The Shorthorn Staff
The cancellation of Wednesday’s shuttle
launch ended the university’s plans for a viewing party scheduled
in Kalpana Chawla Hall.
The watch party is rescheduled for Monday, the next time NASA will
attempt to launch Discovery.
James Horwitz, professor and physics chair, said the launch party
was going to be a group of physics students, faculty and staff gathering
to watch Discovery lift off.
NASA called off its mission two and a half hours before countdown
after discovering a problem with a faulty fuel-tank sensor. NASA
said it appeared the sensor was showing a low-fuel level, even though
the tank was full.
Horwitz said the cancellation didn’t come as a surprise to
him and that he expects any problems to be corrected. He said it’s
standard procedure to be safety conscious after the Columbia disaster
two and a half years ago.
“Delays that happen are very common place,” he said.
As recently as Tuesday, problems have troubled the Discovery mission.
According to a NASA report, some damaged tiles needed replacing
after a cabin window fell on the carrier panel where the tiles were
located.
Media Relations Specialist Sue Stevens said the canceled viewing
party generated wide interest among the media, because of Kalpana
Chawla, an alumna who was killed in the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle
explosion. She said that despite the cancellation, WFAA Channel
8 interviewed students on campus, and the Associated Press came
and took pictures.
Horwitz said there are only certain times when the shuttle can be
launched and that the current launch window expires July 31.
“The next opportunity would happen in September,” he
said.
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