Wednesday, July 13, 2005

To oblivion and beyond

The planned launch of Discovery runs into just a tiny problem:
NASA scrapped today's launch of the first shuttle flight in 2 1/2 years because of a fuel gauge that mistakenly read full instead of empty, a frustrating setback to the agency's bid to get back into space after the Columbia tragedy...

Similar fuel-gauge problems cropped up intermittently during a test of Discovery back in April. The external fuel tank, cables and other electronics were replaced, and even though NASA could not explain the failure, officials thought the problem was resolved and pressed ahead with launch.

I'm amazed that after two setbacks this week, including one based on an unexplained but known problem, they're still planning to go ahead with a launch on Saturday. Assuming of course that the tires haven't fallen off by then.

Sometimes, you just have to admit that your old beater is past its prime - no matter how much you wish it was roadworthy.

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