New Crack Found in US Shuttle Plumbing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 13, 2002

New Crack Found in US Shuttle Plumbing

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US space agency NASA said Thursday its technicians have found a crack in the plumbing of the18 year-old space shuttle Discovery, raising concerns that similar problems may exist in the rest of the fleet.

NASA's whole shuttle fleet had been grounded for about three months this summer after tiny fuel-line cracks were discovered first in Atlantis in June, then in the rest of the four space shuttles.

The latest crack, located in a 5.7-centimeter metal ball in a 43-centimeter liquid oxygen line, was found during routine inspections earlier this week and is unrelated to the earlier fuel-line trouble, NASA said.

The metal ball is used to allow the lines to flex, and NASA technicians are worrying that such cracks could grow and send debris hurtling into a main engine during shuttle's liftoff.

Discovery, which first entered space in 1984, has accomplished 30 flight missions to date. According to a new space transportation plan unveiled last Month, NASA intends to keep the 20-year-old shuttle fleet flying until the middle of next decade and beyond.

NASA's next shuttle flight of Columbia is slated for Jan. 16, 2003. The mission will be dedicated to science. Then in March, shuttle Atlantis will fly to the International Space Station.

As part of the analysis under way of the problem in Discovery, technicians are inspecting similar areas on Atlantis and have not found any cracks so far, said NASA.

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