Recent hail storms caused about 150 dents in the foam insulation at top of space shuttle Discovery's external tank

May 20, 1999
Web posted at: 8:53 AM EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -- Repairs of hail damage on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery were completed on Wednesday and a launch date was set for May 27, NASA said, a day after warning that bad weather could push it back.

The space agency said a long-range forecast calling for stormy weather might still delay the launch. But officials said they were pressing forward with a schedule developed after hail pitted the foam insulation of the shuttle's external fuel tank and forced a postponement of the original May 20 liftoff date.

"Right now we're only concerned with how weather will affect the roll-out" from the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad, spokesman Joel Wells said.

"We'll take a closer look at the launch forecast as we get closer to the date," he said.

Discovery was scheduled to leave its hangar at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) on Thursday and arrive at the launch pad about eight hours later in advance of a storm front expected to hit the Cape in the early afternoon, Wells said.

The shuttle's 10-day mission will take a crew of seven -- including a Canadian astronaut and Russian cosmonaut -- to the International Space Station, already in orbit.

The shuttle will deliver tons of supplies for future missions and spacewalking astronauts will assemble a crane to be used for future construction on the station.

The first three-member space station crew is expected to take up residence in 2000.

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