Payload delay gifts Endeavour space shuttle swan song

by Stevie Smith - Apr 27 2010, 11:06

With only three space shuttle missions to the International Space Station (ISS) left on the calendar before the aging fleet of orbiters is due to be retired, NASA had expected Discovery’s mission on September 16 to represent the grand finale.

However, the fleet’s swan song and subsequent golden handshake has now passed to the Endeavour after NASA announced that a payload problem has bumped the vehicle’s original July launch past Discovery’s slot through to at least mid-November.

The enforced delay is reportedly connected to the new Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a $1.5 billion USD particle detector that will be transported to the International Space Station by Endeavour to assist in the facility’s ongoing physics experiments – which include the search for dark matter.

According to NASA officials, an existing helium-cooled superconducting magnet inside the seven-tonne device is be replaced with another magnet capable of prolonging the spectrometer’s operational lifespan from a few years through to a decade.

Despite the sudden calendar alterations, the space shuttle Atlantis remains on track for its scheduled May 14 launch.

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