The Discovery space shuttle was tooling back to the garage for a little tune up before the big shot planned in July. The big bird gets about half a mile from the hangar and the thing stalls out. The buggy for this thing runs around on tracks and one of the bearings in the big crawler got a little too hot under the collar. No word on the jack they need to lift the wheels on this big thing.
Nasa Needs A Jack 
Crews planned on this wide load road trip taking most of the day, 7 or 8 hours, but it stopped short. NASA crews opened the paneling on the mighty crawled and say a bearing in the mechanism overheated.
The shuttle was on its way back for a refit of the external fuel tank to ensure more safety. They also planned to add a heater unit to its propellant line to prevent ice from forming. The ice that formed on the Columbia caused pieces of its shielding to be damaged and cause its incineration in while returning to earth.
NASA already checked out the landing gear doors on the Discovery. The reason for the extra check was because techs found cracks on landing gear doors the space shuttle Atlantis.
Finally will be the inspection based on the recommendations of the expert, independent review panel. Former astronauts Jim Stafford and Richard Covey will lead the team performing the inspection covering the 15 points recommended by the review panel. Six of the points are completed, 2 more are underway. The team will talk to NASA folks on June 6 to advise on the assessment.
These thorough checks continue as never before after the horrendous disaster that befell the crew of the first shuttle in space, the Columbia. Foam debris fell away from the fuel area and struck a piece of the shielding Ice is also considered a major problem.. All hands were lost. The shuttle fleet has been grounded since then leaving efforts to work on the International Space Station at a minimal level, as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been the only ships heading up there to swap crews and supplies. The space shuttle is seen as crucial to maintain the ISS. The remnants of the shuttle fleet is aging currently has no replacements in the pipeline.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.