Propellant System Tests Scheduled for Discovery

Technicians at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A will perform a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen system functional and check today for space shuttle Discovery following its arrival at the pad yesterday morning. LH2 and LOX are used to fuel Discovery's three main engines during the trip to orbit.

Techs attached the ground umbilical carrier plate and hydrogen gas vent line to Discovery's external fuel tank yesterday. Alignment measurements were taken and are being evaluated by engineers to make sure there's a proper fit and won't leak, as happened Nov. 5 which caused Discovery's first launch attempt to be scrubbed. Leak tests are scheduled for Friday.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Discovery's astronauts are conducting an integrated deorbit prep sim today in the fixed base simulator.

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