Aalice.302 net.columbia utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ihnss!mhtsa!alice!sjb Tue Dec 22 18:01:07 1981 Shuttle work Though a firm launch date for STS-3 has not yet been set (crews are aiming for the week of 21 March), work is proceeding on schedule, and the fuel cell problem is not expected to complicate things. In the faulty cell, two aspirators, which suck water out of the cell, were found clogged with aluminum hydroxide and the third had a hole in its nozzle. The water then flooded the cell, causing its shutdown and the shortened flight of STS-2. Officials say they do not yet know what caused it, but it was probably unique to that cell and would not happen in the others. All three, including a backup, will be inspected. The mating of the shuttle to its external tank is scheduled for 4 January. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.