NASA Holds Test to Verify Endeavour Tank Repairs

NASA will conduct a tanking test at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida on Wednesday, July 1, to ensure repairs to space shuttle Endeavour's
external fuel tank were successful.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO )

The test will be shown live on NASA Television beginning at 7 a.m. EDT. It
will be followed by a news conference at approximately 1 p.m. Briefing
participants will be shuttle program Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses and
STS-127 Launch Director Pete Nickolenko.

During the test, the external tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and
liquid oxygen, just as it is before launch. A hydrogen gas leak at the Ground
Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June
13 and 17. The GUCP is attached to the venting system used to carry excess
hydrogen safely away from the launch pad.

Engineers determined the most likely cause of the leak is a slight
misalignment in the External Tank Carrier Assembly. The assembly was fastened
to the tank during manufacturing. The misalignment likely is putting uneven
pressure on a Teflon seal, causing a small leak when extremely low
temperatures occur during fueling.

Technicians replaced the old seal with a two-piece seal and added small
washers to counter any movement of the external tank carrier assembly as the
tank is fueled.

Endeavour's launch on the STS-127 mission is targeted for 7:39 p.m. on
Saturday, July 11. The 16-day mission to the International Space Station 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.

For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

STS-127 mission Commander Mark Polansky's Twitter account can be followed at:

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_127

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

CONTACT: Michael Curie, Headquarters, Washington, +1-202-358-1100,
michael.curie@nasa.gov, Kyle Herring, Johnson Space Center, Houston
+1-281-483-5111, kyle.j.herring@nasa.gov, or Candrea Thomas, Kennedy Space
Center, Fla., +1-321-867-2468, candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov, all of NASA

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- June 29/

SOURCE NASA