N° 27–1993: EURECA retrieval delayed at least two weeks

Space Shuttle Endeavour, originally scheduled to lift-off on 3 June 1993 and to retrieve the European Space Agency's EURECA satellite on 6 June during the STS-57 mission, will stay on the ground for at least two more weeks to allow for the replacement of a liquid oxygen turbo pump in main engine nr. 2. The pump is suspected to contain a spring that might not be flight-worthy.

Following the successful completion on Monday 24 May of EURECA's transfer to the retrieval altitude of 476 km, the operations of the spacecraft's science and technology payload were resumed in the early morning hours of Tuesday 25 May and will continue until shortly before the retrieval launch.

"EURECA is in a stable orbit and attitude with all subsystems working satisfactorily and is expected to sustain well its extended stay in space. Every effort will be made to maximise the benefit to the science community during this additional period of opportunity" said W. Wimmers, EURECA Flight Operations Director at ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.