Discovery is planned to be landed on Kennedy Space Center. However, the leaking may affect the plan.
The NASA engineers are seriously monitoring the leak in the pipeline of an auxiliary power unit that controls hydraulic steering and braking maneuvers. It’s now leaking at a rate of 6 drops per hour. It’s either harmless nitrogen or flammable hydrazine fuel. Nevertheless, the current rate is still 100,000 times slower than what would cause a fire.
John Shannon, the shuttle program’s deputy manager, said that the shuttle is certified to land normally with two power units, with the only change requiring pyrotechnics to lower landing gear. It could also land with one power unit on but it is much more difficult.
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