An Uncertain Strike
At the afternoon press conference, we learned that launch pad 39B was hit yesterday by the largest lightning strike the shuttle programme has ever seen. One hundred thousand amps coursed through the tower’s lightning rod. The arc may have affected an arm on the ground structure that’s meant to swing away at launch, as well as one of the shuttle’s primary electrical systems, according to LeRoy Cain, the senior shuttle programme manager at the site. “At this point we don’t really have enough data yet to really know whether or not we have any problems.”
Cain says that the team has decided to delay the launch by at least 24 hours to assess the strike.Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that engineers will be able to go out and inspect the shuttle or the launch pad anytime soon. A second round of thunderstorms has rolled in this afternoon, and the pad will probably have to be kept clear until the late evening or early morning hours.
