NASA officials said today they won't make a proposed Jan. 10 datefor the rescheduled launch of the Atlantis space shuttle, delayed earlier this month after the malfunction of several fuel gauges.
The repair plan for the shuttle's fuel system will take the team past early January, NASA officials said. A new launch date will be set once the problem is fixed, they said.
The problems have been caused by a group of sensors that shut off the craft's main engines if fuel runs unexpectedly low. Without these, a fuel leak could cause serious damage to the engines, even causing an explosion.
The shuttle is slated to carry the European Columbus science module to the International Space Station. Once there, the module will host experiments of a variety of different kinds, which require weightlessness to conduct.
Shuttle Team to Modify Fuel Sensors; Jan. 10 launch off [NASA]
(Image: Workers examine the outside of the Atlantis shuttle's external fuel tank. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
