Grit Forces Switch in Shuttle’s Launch Pad
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA has decided to switch Endeavour from one launch pad to another because of grit contaminating the cargo storage room at the shuttle’s current location.
The move, to be made around Nov. 15, won’t delay Endeavour’s Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said Friday. But crews will have to work overtime for NASA to meet the scheduled Dec. 1 liftoff, he said.
A fine sandy substance, the result of recent sandblasting at the pad, was found in the launch pad cargo room. The grit was splattered on bags insulating Hubble’s replacement parts.
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