Endeavour Tanking Test Confirms Repair Success

02 Jul 2009

A test fueling of space shuttle Endeavour's external tank revealed no gaseous hydrogen leaks, verifying recent repairs were successful, NASA managers confirmed during a Wednesday afternoon news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Space shuttle Endeavour is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a tanking test July 1.

The tanking test began at 6:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday. During the next three hours, teams in the Launch Control Center watched closely for signs of a leak as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen poured into the massive orange tank. Previous attempts to launch Endeavour on the STS-127 mission were scrubbed by a leak in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to the external tank. Crews worked tirelessly to investigate and repair the problem.

"There were absolutely no leak indications whatsoever noted on the two leak detectors," said Launch Director Pete Nickolenko. "We'll continue to look at the data, and our next step is to move toward launch."

Endeavour's launch is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m.

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.