NASA has postponed the space shuttle Discovery’s launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday due to a hydrogen leak during fueling. The space agency is expected to try again on Sunday.
Wednesday’s launch attempt was scrapped as the shuttle was being filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
“Our business requires perfection and our vehicle was not perfect today,” said shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach.
The leak appeared around a vent valve that funnels hydrogen gases that have boiled off during the fill-up to a disposal system on the ground, creating a potential fire hazard.
“Hydrogen gas leaking overboard is not an acceptable condition,” Leinbach said.
Technically, NASA has until Tuesday to get Discovery into space to avoid a potential conflict with a Russian mission to deliver a new crew to the space station.
If Discovery cannot fly before then, NASA will reschedule the mission for April.
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