NEW YORK, July 21 (RIA Novosti, Andrei Loschilin) - The Discovery space shuttle launch is scheduled for July 26, a NASA official told a press conference at Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday.
Bill Parsons, NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager said this date had been set even although NASA has yet to locate the cause of the problem with the external fuel tank. He said that if all the tests went well, the shuttle would be launched Tuesday at 10:39 a.m. EDT (18:39 Moscow time).
NASA technicians are currently working to fix the fault with the sensor system for the liquid hydrogen fuel tank, which had led to the first launch in two and a half years being postponed on July 13.
"We've all agreed that this work is doable, and that it all takes us to a launch on the 26th," Parsons said.
If the Discovery space shuttle does not lift-off in July, the next launch window will only open in September. This is due to restrictions relating to the orbital location of the international space station and NASA's desire for a daylight launch so it can visually monitor the space vehicle's shield.
