Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC                    May 14, 1999
(Phone:  202/358-1639)

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone:  281/483-5111)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  N99-27

DISCOVERY LAUNCH POSTPONED TO REPAIR FUEL TANK HAIL DAMAGE

     Space Shuttle managers have postponed the launch of Discovery for at
least one week to permit technicians to repair foam insulation on the
external fuel tank that was damaged by a severe hail storm last weekend.

     Previously scheduled for May 20, Discovery's launch on Shuttle
mission STS-96 will be delayed for a minimum of at least a week to no
earlier than May 27. Managers will schedule a new target launch date once
the repairs near completion, probably by the middle of next week.

     Discovery will be moved from the launch pad back to the Vehicle
Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL, to allow repair
workers to gain access to some areas of the tank that cannot be reached at
the pad.  The hail storm caused several small indentations in the tank's
foam insulation, and managers are concerned that ice could form in the
areas when the tank is filled with super-cold propellants for launch.
Such areas of ice could cause debris damage to the Shuttle after liftoff.
Similar repairs to the external fuel tank's foam insulation were performed
once before, prior to Shuttle mission STS-70 in July 1995.

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