September launch for shuttle unlikely
Houston Two days after space shuttle Discovery returned safely from orbit, a top NASA official said the next flight probably won’t launch as planned next month because engineers still don’t know why potentially hazardous foam debris fell off Discovery’s fuel tank.
NASA grounded the shuttles after seeing debris during Discovery’s ascent. If shuttle Atlantis doesn’t lift off next month, its next chances to make it to orbit are Nov. 7-10, then in March.
“We’re going to have to make some modifications to the tank, so that probably puts the September (launch) window into a not very likely possibility,” said William Gerstenmaier, foam investigation leader.
He said there are some tantalizing leads – but no final conclusions – on why foam was lost from five places on the tank.
Discovery suffered no harm from the falling foam. But in 2003 shuttle Columbia crumbled during its trip home, killing all seven aboard, because of damage done during launch by foam debris. Though it has the texture of packing peanuts, the foam hit Columbia at the equivalent of 545 mph, packing a lethal punch.
Last week, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said the Sept. 22-25 launch window was within reach.
Sex scandal ousts another N.Y. priest
New York A high-profile Roman Catholic priest accused in court papers of having an affair with his married secretary resigned Thursday as rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
Msgr. Eugene Clark became the third top archdiocesan official in three years to resign or be forced out as a result of sexual allegations. The others were Bishop James McCarthy, who resigned in June 2002 after admitting to several affairs with women, and Msgr. Charles Kavanagh, who was suspended in May 2002, after allegations made by a former seminarian.
Clark, who, since 2001, oversaw the most influential pulpit in New York, was named last week in divorce papers by Philip DeFilippo, 46, who accuses the priest and his wife of adultery.
Tobacco town edges toward smoking ban
Louisville, Ky. Leaders in this city long associated with the tobacco industry voted Thursday to adopt a limited ban on smoking but backed away from a more comprehensive proposal that would have prohibited lighting up in all public buildings.
The 26-member Louisville Metro Council voted 21-5 in favor of a ban that would prohibit smoking in most workplaces and restaurants, but the ordinance added several exceptions, including Churchill Downs and freestanding bars.
The ban will take effect 90 days after Mayor Jerry Abramson signs the proposal, which he is expected to do by early next week.
“I’m very excited and appreciative that the council stepped up in a significant way for the health of our citizens,” Abramson said shortly after the vote. “This is a very positive, very strong statement by the council.”
Kentucky is the nation’s leading producer of burley tobacco, an ingredient in cigarettes, and Louisville is the state’s largest city, with an adult smoking rate that is among the highest in the nation – 27.5 percent, according to 2004 Centers for Disease Control figures.