Nasa Makes Long-Delayed Fix

NASA installed insulation on space shuttle Columbia’s water pipes Wednesday, holding up the launch for a job that should have been done as much as 14 years ago.

NASA delayed Columbia’s launch by one day to perform the work. The shuttle is now scheduled to lift off with seven astronauts and 33 laboratory experiments on Friday afternoon.

The space agency realized only this week that 3-foot sections of two coolant loops on Columbia lacked thermal blankets, said shuttle operations director Bob Sieck. The fear is that water in the exposed lines might freeze in orbit, causing the shuttle electronics to overheat and forcing an early landing.

Columbia may have been flying without the insulation since 1983, two years after it made the first shuttle flight, Sieck said.