CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The launch of the shuttle Discovery was postponed Wednesday — hours before it was to head to the space station — because of a hydrogen-gas leak that could have been catastrophic at liftoff.
The gaseous hydrogen began leaking in the shuttle’s outside plumbing just as the launch team was close to wrapping up the loading of Discovery’s external fuel tank for a late-night liftoff. The astronauts had yet to board.
The shuttle’s flight to the space station already was a month behind schedule because of concerns about hydrogen-gas valves in the ship’s engine compartment.
Shuttle managers put off the launch until Monday but left open the possibility that the repair work might allow for an attempt Sunday.
The latest delay means Discovery’s two-week flight must be shortened and some spacewalks cut from the mission because it must be gone before a Russian Soyuz rocket blasts off March 26 for the space station with a fresh crew.
If Discovery isn’t flying by Monday, maybe Tuesday, then it will have to wait until April.
Mission Control radioed the news to the three space station residents Tuesday. Cmdr. Mike Fincke took it in stride, saying: “We’d rather see it up safely, so we understand.”
