NASA on Tuesday delayed next week’s launch of space shuttle Discovery while it runs tests to determine whether newly installed valves would cause serious damage if they broke during liftoff. The launch will take place no sooner than Feb. 19, seven days after the shuttle was originally scheduled to take off on a space station construction mission. The delay is needed to make certain that Discovery can fly safely with the valves that control the flow of gaseous hydrogen into the external fuel tank, said NASA’s space operations chief, Bill Gerstenmaier.
