Wednesday, August 26, 2009 WASHINTON: NASA was planning to launch the space shuttle Discovery early Friday after thunderstorms and a hydrogen fuel tank valve postponed two previous attempts. The shuttle and its crew of seven astronauts were preparing for a 13-day mission to supply the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).Ahead of the next planned launch attempt, engineers will evaluate a liquid hydrogen valve that became problematic when technicians began fueling Discovery on Tuesday, mission management team chairman Mike Moses told reporters.It was the second scuttled launch in a 24-hour period. A first launch attempt early Tuesday was scrubbed due to stormy weather.Moses said detailed test data about the valve would be examined before the shuttle's fuel tank is filled with propellant ahead of the planned launch shortly after midnight.If engineers cannot determine the exact nature of the problem or if the vlave must be replaced, he warned, "then we will probably not be...
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