Aalice.134
net.columbia
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!research!alice!sjb
Wed Nov 4 18:37:35 1981
shuttle scrubbed
[I am home early! -- today]
By now, you all know that the shuttle mission for today was
scrubbed. Here is some more detail on exactly what happened:
At T-9:00 of the first countdown, a computer stopped the clock--
after a scheduled hold. There was a reading of low pressure in
three tanks which supple oxygen to the fuel cells. Officials
decided that it was within tolerance and ordered the computer
to restart the clock -- it did. But at T-:31, the computer shut
it down again. Again, officials ordered the clock reset, either
to T-9:00 or T-20:00. It was, and at 0935 EST (the second
countdown now in progress), the computer again shut the clock down
-- this time there was an overpressurization problem in two
of the auxiliary power units that provide hydraulic
power to the ship. Apparently, 2 clogged filters, never
refurbished after April's flight, were the problem. Hydrazine
fuel leaked into the APU gearbox and contaminated its lubricant.
The filters must now be removed, purged, cleaned, and reinstalled.
A new launch date and time is to be announced tomorrow. Hopes
are for sometime between Friday and Monday.
However, the weather remains a problem. This afternoon it did
rain at the Cape. And predictions say the weather will deteriorate
in the coming days.
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