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NASA says Space Shuttle Endeavour is ready to launch August 7th. This will be the first flight for Endeavour since 2002. Houston Public Radio’s Capella Tucker reports the shuttle has been completely over-hauled.
NASA officials do have some more fine-tuning to do to the vehicle. They also have to do repairs to a computer provided by a subcontractor that was apparently intentionally damaged. NASA officials say the incident is being investigated. Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale says Endeavour has had nearly 200 modifications to improve safety.
“The space shuttle orbiter itself is a remarkably new vehicle after a complete overhaul coming out of what we call our orbiter down period, it’s like a new space shuttle.”
NASA officials at the briefing declined to answer questions about the report alleging that at least twice astronauts were allowed to fly while intoxicated. NASA officials have scheduled a news conference tomorrow when the health assessment report is released. Capella Tucker, Houston Public Radio News.