Article Posted on : - Jun 18, 2009

This close-up image reveals the Ground Umbilical Carrier Panel area on space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank. Image credit: NASA TV

MOSCOW (BNS): NASA will target July 11 for next launch of Endeavour after the shuttle failed to take off Wednesday due to a nagging hydrogen leak.

Space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 launch Wednesday was officially scrubbed at 1:55 a.m. EDT when the same type of gaseous hydrogen leak was detected at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP. This is the same location where a similar leak resulted in a launch scrub on June 13, a NASA statement said.

“We’re going to step back and figure out what the problem is, and then we’ll fly,” said LeRoy Cain, deputy space shuttle program manager. “I’m confident we will do that. It’s going to take us a little time to do that.”

The robotic mission is a key first step in NASA’s plans to return to the moon as it will survey the lunar surface for landing areas and look beneath the surface for natural resources, a media report said.

The shuttle’s mechanical problem with its hydrogen venting system first cropped up in March during an initial attempt to launch space shuttle Discovery.

The leak occurred in a 7-inch round plate that attaches plumbing and cables from the shuttle’s external tank to the launch pad. Among other gases and liquids, these cables carry highly flammable hydrogen away from the shuttle.

The shuttle is due to bring to the ISS equipment and seven astronauts: Commander Mark Polansky, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette.

The STS-127 mission is scheduled to last for 16 days and includes five spacewalks, as well as the complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.