NASA postpones space shuttle Discovery's launch again

The space shuttle Discovery lands,

ending Mission STS-124 to the International Space Station, at the Kennedy

Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida June 14, 2008. (Chinese media/Reuters

Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Chinese media) -- The launch of space shuttle

Discovery has been postponed again due to concerns over a valve that keeps fuel

flowing in Discovery's main engines, the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) said Saturday in a press release.

The valve is one of three that channel gaseous

hydrogen from the engines to the external fuel tank. Discovery's valves were

removed, inspected and reinstalled as a precaution after one valve in shuttle

Endeavor had been found damaged following its mission in November.

NASA's Space Shuttle Program will convene a meeting

on Feb. 13 to review data and determine whether to move forward with a flight

readiness review on Feb. 18. The official launch date will be set at the

readiness review, but for planning purposes launch is no earlier than Feb. 22.

Discovery's latest mission to the International Space

Station originally had been scheduled for Feb. 12. During a review of

Discovery's readiness for flight, NASA managers decided on Tuesday to plan a

launch no earlier than Feb. 19.

Discovery's 14-day mission will deliver the

International Space Station's fourth and final set of solar arrays, completing

the orbiting laboratory's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide

electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's

expanded crew of six in May. Altogether, the station's 240-foot-long arrays can

generate as much as 120 kilowatts of usable electricity -- enough to provide

power to 42 homes of 2,800square feet.

Discovery will also carry a replacement distillation

assembly for the station's new water recycling system.