alb@brunix.UUCP (Adam Buchsbaum) (02/06/85)
A one week postponement in the launch of 51-E was announced today by NASA. The delay is due to an overload of paperwork involved in recertifying the nearly 4,000 thermal tiles that had to be rebonded to the Challenger after last October's mission. A chemical reaction loosened the bonding agent that holds the tiles onto the shuttle; most of the troubled tiles were on the critical underbelly of the orbiter. The new launch date, no earlier than the 27th and maybe the 28th, will be announced by NASA later this week. The delay will not have any effect on future launches, but it will cause a busy two weeks after the mission, as the Discovery is stilled scheduled to launch on 19 March.