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New Problem Crops Up For Atlantis

POSTED: 5:05 pm EST January 30, 2008
UPDATED: 10:07 pm EST January 30, 2008

NASA held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to say that the fuel sensor problem that delayed the launch last month is fixed, but now there's a problem with a cooling system.

A silver hose in the back of the shuttle Atlantis that is bent like a horseshoe is the new problem.

It's bent the wrong way, and no one knew that until Tuesday.

The hose is important because it helps cool the electronics that fly the shuttle.

"This hose that is on Atlantis is not leaking, it is just merely bent the wrong way," Wayne Hale of NASA said.

Engineers engineers in the control rooms and at the launch pad seem confident they'll either fix the hose, or clear it to fly as-is next week.

The other problem was fuel sensors, which have been soldered together so they'll work more reliably.

Mission managers are convinced they'll work this time.

Launch is set for next Thursday, Feb. 7, but they have to fix the hose problem first and they think they can do that.

To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Dan Billow.

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