Discovery Launch Delayed

Bad news for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery and their unlikely companion, the Robonaut 2: due to some helium and nitrogen leaks, the launch of the shuttle has been delayed. The new take off date is not that far away though, as the shuttle will be sent into space one day after the scheduled launched date, on November 2.

Being the final flight of the shuttle program (there are no more launches planned this year and NASA will retire the space shuttle fleet in 2011), the importance of the flight has been boosted by the presence on board of the first ever humanoid robot to fly into space.

“Managers are meeting to discuss the plan to repair helium and nitrogen leaks in the pressurization portion of space shuttle Discovery’s right-hand Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod,” NASA says in a statement.

“The leaks must be fixed before launch and the decision was made to delay picking up the launch countdown by at least a day.”

The mission, dubbed STS-133, will be delivering the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the Express Logistics Carrier 4 to the International Space Station (ISS). The 35th shuttle mission to the station will also resupply the ISS.

As for Robonaut 2, the robot co-develop by American manufacturer GM and NASA, it will be on the flight for testing purposes. R2, as it's called, will pretty much be along for the ride in its first mission. During the flight, the robot and the effects of zero gravity, radiation and electromagnetic interference will be studied.