Gas leak adds further delay to final Discovery shuttle voyage

A potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak during fuelling yesterday caused yet another delay for space shuttle Discovery’s final voyage — possibly until the end of the month.

It was the latest and most serious problem to hit NASA’s oldest and most travelled shuttle over the past week. Another launch attempt will not be made before Monday.

Midway through the fuelling process yesterday morning, hydrogen gas began leaking from where a vent line attaches to the external fuel tank. It’s the same type of problem that forced delays for two shuttle missions last year, and had not reoccurred since then.