NASA finds more cracks, this time in shuttle haulers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA said Monday that it has discovered more cracked equipment, this time in the massive 1960s-vintage movers used to haul space shuttles to the launch pads.

The problem was reported just as technicians finished fixing fuel-line cracks inside shuttle Atlantis.

The newest cracks are in the bearings of the Apollo-era crawlers. Depending on the repairs ordered, the problem could mean more launch delays.

"It's too soon to tell what impact, if any, there would be on the schedule," said NASA spokesman George Diller.

Three small cracks in the plumbing of Atlantis were welded over the weekend, putting the shuttle on track for a launch as early as Sept. 28. A crawler is needed, however, to get the shuttle from the hangar to the pad, and engineers do not know how long the bearing repairs will take since there aren't nearly enough spare parts.

The mission to add another piece to the international space station had been scheduled for August but was delayed because of the fuel-line cracking that grounded NASA's entire shuttle fleet.

Weighs 6 million pounds

Diller said the cracked bearings were discovered Friday during routine inspections. Damage was found in both of NASA's crawlers, 6 million-pound platforms with giant tanklike treads that were built in the 1960s to transport the Saturn V moon rockets to the launch pads.

These bearings -- 32 per crawler -- are part of a leveling system needed to keep the shuttle steady and in a perfectly upright position as it's hauled up a ramp to the launch pad. The last thing NASA wants is to have the crawler and shuttle get stuck en route and then be forced to attempt difficult repairs outside, Diller said.

As of Monday, nearly half of the bearings were found to be cracked or heavily worn, Diller said. Inspections were continuing, he added. Some of the damage was described as extensive.

NASA only has eight of these bearings in stock, and so engineers are debating whether to remove the good bearings from one crawler and install them in the other.