NASA Faces Crucial Decisions on Discovery Launch; Military Satellite Lifts Off from Canaveral
Monday, November 22, 2010
By: Judith Smelser

November 22, 2010 | WMFE - NASA plans another meeting this week to decide whether repairs to Space Shuttle Discovery will be finished in time for a launch late next week.

Workers at Kennedy Space Center are trying to fix a gas leak and several cracks on the shuttle’s external fuel tank. The leak forced NASA to call off the launch earlier this month.

The agency is now hoping Discovery can lift off next Friday, December 3^rd.  Officials plan to meet on Wednesday of this week to check the status of the repair work.

The mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to be Discovery’s final flight before the shuttle program ends next year.

In other space news, the U.S. Air Force launched a classified spy satellite from Cape Canaveral Sunday night.  The unmanned Delta IV-Heavy rocket lifted off after several months of delays because of technical glitches.

The rocket is carrying a satellite, which the government says is the largest in the world.  No other details were released about the classified mission.