SPACEPHOTOS

(01/20/2001) -- Working near the top of a solid rocket booster, NASA and United Space Alliance SRB technicians hook up SRB cables to a CIRRUS computer for testing. From left are Jim Glass, with USA, performing a Flex test on the cable; Steve Swichkow, with NASA, and Jim Silviano, with USA, check the results on a computer. The SRB is part of Space Shuttle Atlantis, rolled back from Launch Pad 39A in order to conduct tests on the cables. A prior extensive evaluation of NASA’s SRB cable inventory on the shelf revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis before launching. Workers are conducting inspections, making continuity checks and conducting X-ray analysis on the cables. The launch has been rescheduled no earlier than Feb. 6.