At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians will install reference dots on space shuttle Discovery’s ground umbilical carrier plate, or GUCP, to monitor for movement during tanking. Discovery’s launch is currently targeted for no earlier than Dec. 17, after shuttle managers determined more tests and analysis are needed.
The Program Requirements Control Board will meet today to assess repairs and engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets, called stringers, on the shuttle’s external tank. If managers clear Discovery for launch on Dec. 17, the preferred time is about 8:51 p.m. EST.
Astronauts Alvin Drew and Tim Kopra are rehearsing their second spacewalk at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston.