NASA clears Columbia for launch

Live coverage Thursday, June 20 10:49 a.m. EDT (1449 GMT)

June 19, 1996
Web posted at: 5:50 p.m. EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- Space shuttle Columbia has been cleared for a Thursday liftoff, but bad weather may postpone the launch by a day.

Also on Wednesday, officials blamed test equipment for an earlier problem. The "master events controller," a unit that controls when the solid rocket boosters and external tanks fall off during liftoff, malfunctioned during a Tuesday test.

Managers on Tuesday ordered X-ray inspections of screws on power-drive units for Columbia's two fuel-line doors after loose screws were found on shuttle Atlantis. Engineers found all eight screws on Columbia to be installed properly.

The launch is set for 10:49 a.m. EDT Thursday, but NASA said there's a 60 percent chance bad weather will delay it. Seven astronauts will carry out a 16-day laboratory-research mission. It will be stretched to 17 days, a shuttle record, if the crew can conserve enough power.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Space Exploration Gallery
• Countdown for shuttle's longest mission begins - June 18, 1996

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