NASA sticks to scheduled launch for Discovery

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Cape Canaveral, October 17:: NASA's senior managers have cleared space shuttle Discovery for liftoff, overruling a safety group that called for further studies and wing repairs, if necessary, before next week's launch.

The potential problem is with the critical thermal shielding on Discovery's wings. A new inspection method uncovered possible cracking just beneath the protective coating on three of the 44 panels that line the wings.

Engineers were evenly split on whether Discovery's flight to the international space station should be delayed.

In the end, top managers concluded yesterday night following an all-day meeting that repairs weren't needed, shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale said.

The NASA Engineering and Safety Centre - formed in the wake of the 2003 Columbia disaster - has been studying the issue since May and still does not understand why the protective coating on some of the wing panels is coming off.

It recommended additional testing, at the very least, before Discovery flies and suggested possibly replacing the three reinforced carbon panels in question. That work would have set the launch back by at least two months.