Washington - NASA was examining a valve on the space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday a day after pushing the launch back to February 19 at the earliest. Discovery was originally aiming for a February 12 launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Engineers were examining the flow control valve for possible damage that could cause problems during take-off and were to meet to discuss the situation before setting a firm launch date. The type of valve was damaged on the space shuttle Endeavour's flight in November, prompting NASA to examine the piece on Discovery.
Discovery's flight is the first of five planned shuttle flights this year and is to focus on construction at the International Space Station with the installation of a final pair of solar panels.
