Today’s tanking test is proceeding as expected on space shuttle Discovery with the filling of the shuttle’s external fuel tank with cryogenic, or super-cold, propellants. The team conducting the test is running through many of the same steps as on a launch day with some obvious exceptions, most notably the absence of the astronauts. Some of the software that runs the ground launch sequencer was changed to remove steps the computer would typically make, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said. For instance, programmers removed the step in the process calling for the orbiter access arm to be retracted late in the countdown.
"We’re looking forward to the real thing," Leinbach added.
Currently, Discovery is to perform "the real thing" no earlier than Feb. 3, 2011, depending on the outcome of today’s test and other preparations.