NASA managers will review prospects for launching space shuttle Atlantis this month at a teleconference Jan. 3, as analysis continues on the electrical connector that is believed to be responsible for the intermittent problems that postponed a launch attempt in December.

Wayne Hale, the space shuttle program manager, was scheduled to brief reporters after the regular Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) teleconference concludes Jan. 3. Among agenda items for the PRCB this week are the status of planning to replace the connector that passes through the wall of the shuttle's external tank to the engine cutoff (ECO) sensors that signal when the liquid hydrogen levels near depletion.

A Dec. 18 tanking test traced the problem to the connector, which was removed from the Atlantis external tank early on Dec. 30 and sent to Marshall Space Flight Center for testing. A replacement incorporating modifications is being prepared, and managers were to discuss its installation during the PRCB telecom (DAILY, Dec. 19, 2007).

NASA said Jan. 2 that if the managers approve installation of the replacement, the work will be done at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A "over the next few days." However, the shuttle program has dropped a Jan. 10 "placeholder" launch date, and it is uncertain whether managers will try to set a new date during the Jan. 3 telecon.