A test fueling of space shuttle Endeavour‘s external tank revealed no gaseous hydrogen leaks, verifying recent repairs were successful, NASA managers confirmed during a Wednesday afternoon news conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The tanking test began at 6:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday. During the following three hours, teams in the Launch Control Center watched closely for signs of a leak as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen poured into the massive orange tank. Previous attempts to launch Endeavour on the STS-127 mission were scrubbed by a leak in the area of the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, which attaches a gaseous hydrogen vent line to the external tank. Crews worked tirelessly to investigate and repair the problem. Endeavour’s launch is now targeted for July 11th at 7:39 p.m.
