Message posted by Mike on August 11, 2000 at 16:52:49 EST:

According to Los Angeles Daily News,

Damage to a liquid hydrogen fuel tank in a test last fall will delay flight of the X-33 for at least two years, but NASA is still eager to see the rocket-plane through to completion, an official said thursday.

NASA and Lockheed Martin officials are still trying to determine how much it will cost to continue the program in the wake of the Nov. 3 tank incident. An announcement on negotiations for continuing the program could come within few weeks.

NASA confirm the damage to the tank was discovered in the wake of a Nov. 3 test at NASA's Marsshall Space Flight Cnter in Alabama. During the test, the tank was subjected to loads it would experience prior to a launch.

After the test, the tank was drained and an engineer discovered fractures and rips in the tank's outer skin.

The small cracks in the inner skin allowes liquid hydrogen to seep into the tank's honeycomb core. Cracks in the outer skin aloowed nitrogen gas used in the purge process to seep in.

NASA and Lockheed Martin and its partners thus far have committed more than $1.2 billion to the program.

Thanks to Daily News

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