Space Shuttle Discovery Rolled From Launch Pad

Technicians are preparing to roll Space Shuttle Discovery from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building, now scheduled for early morning Thursday, May 26. Once there, Orbiter Discovery will be removed from its External Tank (ET) and lowered into the transfer aisle. On or about June 7, Discovery will be lifted and attached to its new ET and Solid Rocket Boosters. Discovery is expected to be rolled back out to the pad in mid-June.

Engineers also are investigating part of Discovery's main landing-gear door, after a small crack was found last week in a retract link assembly on the right-hand main landing gear on Orbiter Atlantis in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. The Atlantis assembly has been removed and will be replaced with a spare. Engineers have looked at the closeout photos of the link assembly on Discovery. The initial review indicates the link assembly does not appear to have any cracks. To ensure there are no cracks in the assemblies, technicians will enter Discovery's payload bay and perform borescope inspections of the area, an inspection that can only be accomplished at the pad. This additional work does not impact the launch planning window of July 13-31.

Following the inspections, Discovery will undergo hot-fire tests of its Auxiliary Power Units currently scheduled for Wednesday.

Source: NASA