Countdown Begins for Hubble Mission
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The countdown began Saturday for NASA’s return visit to the Hubble Space Telescope, amid concerns over a space shuttle fuel cell that may not have been flushed adequately.
The shuttle Discovery is scheduled to blast off early Tuesday on the 10-day mission to add new science instruments and other equipment to the orbiting telescope.
The only concern is an electricity- and water-producing fuel cell that might have too much potassium hydroxide residue left inside and could result in drinking water that is alkaline, said shuttle test director John Guidi.
NASA won’t know whether the new fuel cell is acceptable for flight until it is turned on Monday, 17 hours before launch, and flushed repeatedly.
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