Nov 5, 2010

Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 candrea k thomas@nasa gov

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 jbuck@nasa gov

RELEASE: 10-294

NASA POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- NASA postponed space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station due to a hydrogen gas leak detected while filling the external tank The next launch attempt could be no earlier than Monday, Nov 8, at 12:53 p m EST

The leak, detected early Friday morning while the shuttle's external fuel tank was being loaded, was at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, an attachment point between the external tank and a 17-inch pipe that carries gaseous hydrogen safely away from Discovery to the flare stack, where it is burned off

NASA's mission managers will hold a meeting at 11 a m Friday to discuss the repair options and Discovery's launch opportunities A news conference will air on NASA Television and the agency's website no earlier than 1 p m with Mike Moses, Space Shuttle Program launch integration manager, and Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director

If a Monday launch is not possible, the next window for Discovery's liftoff is Nov 30 through Dec 5 The 11-day STS-133 mission will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to the station The PMM, which was converted from the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, will provide additional storage for the station crew and experiments may be conducted inside it, such as fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology

The flight also will transport critical spare parts and the Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) to the station ELC4 is an external platform that holds large equipment Robonaut 2, or R2, will be the first human-like robot in space when it flies on Discovery inside the PMM to become a permanent resident of the station The mission will feature two spacewalks to do maintenance work and install new components

Commander Steve Lindsey leads the veteran crew, which includes Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Alvin Drew, Tim Kopra, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott

STS-133 is the final shuttle mission planned for 2010, Discovery's 39th flight and the 35th shuttle mission to the station

For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

For more information about the STS-133 mission, visit:

http://www nasa gov/shuttle

Stott will send mission updates to her Twitter account:

http://www twitter com/astro_nicole

For more information about the space station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

-end-

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