Discovery Rollback Completed, Tank Modification Decision Expected Next Week

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery has reached the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), completing the 3.4 mile trek from Launch Pad 39A. The move, known as a rollback, began Tuesday at 10:48 p.m. EST.

There, science technicians will take x-ray scans beneath the foam insulation of all 108 support beams, called stringers, on Discovery’s external fuel tank. They’ll also remove sensors on the external tank from last Friday’s tanking test and reapply foam to those areas.

Tuesday afternoon, Space Shuttle Program managers also decided to protect the option of performing known and practiced modifications on some of the stringers, if additional testing and analysis indicates that’s necessary. Managers are expected to decide on Dec. 30 whether modifications are needed.