Today the aircraft mechanics disassembled the launcher ejection gate valve to confirm yesterdays diagnosis. No additional damage beyond the broken springs was found that would be a cause for concern for this mission. The launcher needs to be checked after the completion of this campaign. Mack will be flying in from Denver tomorrow and hand carry the springs. They will be installed on Sunday and the launcher will be put back into place. The next science flight is planned for Monday. Dave Raymond has been kept up to date on these plans.
The springs, which we had ordered from San Jose are unfortunately too long due to a misunderstanding in the specifications. The have been custom made for us ( for $5 each). With more time and better understanding of what the specifications actually referred to, this would have been a viable option, but not under the time pressure to solve this issue.
