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From: alb@brunix.UUCP (Adam Buchsbaum)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: 51-E Delayed One Week
Message-ID: <11997@brunix.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Feb-85 20:06:39 EST
Article-I.D.: brunix.11997
Posted: Tue Feb  5 20:06:39 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Feb-85 04:40:43 EST
Lines: 13

A one week postponement in the launch of 51-E was announced
today by NASA.  The delay is due to an overload of paperwork
involved in recertifying the nearly 4,000 thermal tiles that
had to be rebonded to the Challenger after last October's
mission.  A chemical reaction loosened the bonding agent
that holds the tiles onto the shuttle; most of the troubled
tiles were on the critical underbelly of the orbiter.  The
new launch date, no earlier than the 27th and maybe the 28th,
will be announced by NASA later this week.

The delay will not have any effect on future launches, but
it will cause a busy two weeks after the mission, as the
Discovery is stilled scheduled to launch on 19 March.