Another Leak, Another Delay

The space shuttle launch scheduled for early this morning was scrubbed when NASA found yet another hydrogen leak in the external fuel tank. The STS-127 mission will now be delayed until mid-July at the earliest.

Hydrogen leaks in the external tank have become a problem of late. NASA has been launching shuttles in the same configuration for nearly thirty years, generally with complete success, so it's probably unlikely that the leaks are the result of some fundamental flaw in the system, but NASA cannot afford such glitches. Retirement for the shuttle is looming, and there is still much work for it to do.