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Crack found in plumbing of shuttle
©Associated Press
December 13, 2002
CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA found a crack in the plumbing of space shuttle Discovery and said Thursday it was checking the rest of the fleet for similar problems.
The crack was discovered during inspections this week on Discovery, which is in the midst of an extensive and periodic tuneup. The fracture is in a 21/4-inch metal ball in a 17-inch liquid oxygen line; the spheres, which are original shuttle parts, allow the lines to flex.
NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said inspections so far have uncovered no problem with the other balls in Discovery's propellant lines. The concern is that such cracks could grow and send debris hurtling into a main engine during liftoff.
In June, NASA's entire shuttle fleet was grounded because of fuel-line cracks that were welded. The latest crack is unrelated to that earlier trouble.
The next shuttle launch, of Columbia, is scheduled for Jan. 16. The science mission features the first Israeli astronaut.
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