List of Space Shuttle rollbacks
No Date Orbiter Mission Reason Description
1 1983-10-19 Columbia STS-9 Inspection failure Suspect exhaust nozzle on right solid rocket booster . Columbia was de-stacked and moved back to the Orbiter Processing Facility ( OPF )
2 1984-07-11 Discovery STS-41-D Abort Space shuttle main engine ( SSME ) # 3 replaced after a launch abort
3 1985-03-05 Challenger STS-51-E STS-51-B Payload Challenger was rolled back from Pad 39A due to a timing problem with the primary payload , the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-B ( TDRS-B ) . The vehicle was de-stacked in the VAB and the orbiter returned to Orbiter Processing Facility . The mission , STS-51E , was canceled and the orbiter was re-manifested with 51-B payloads
4 1990-06-12 Columbia STS-35 Inspection failure A hydrogen leak was detected in External tank ( ET ) umbilical
5 1990-08-09 Atlantis STS-38 Fuel leak Atlantis was rolled back after tests confirmed a hydrogen fuel leak on the external tank side of the external tank/orbiter quick-disconnect umbilical
6 1990-10-09 Columbia STS-35 Weather Weather threat from Tropical Storm Klaus
7 1991-03-07 Discovery STS-39 Inspection failure Discovery was rolled back to the VAB after significant cracks were found on all four lug hinges on the two external tank umbilical door drive mechanisms
8 1994-08-24 Endeavour STS-68 Abort Pad abort due to a high discharge temperature in a pump on main engine number three . All three engines were replaced in the VAB
9 1995-06-08 Discovery STS-70 Inspection failure Yellow flicker woodpeckers drilled approximately 71 holes on the external tank foam insulation , many of which were too high up on the tank to be accessed at the pad for repairs
10 1995-08-01 Endeavour STS-69 Weather Endeavour was moved back to the VAB due to threat of severe weather from Hurricane Erin
11 1996-07-10 Atlantis STS-79 Weather Atlantis was moved back to the VAB due to threat of severe weather from Hurricane Bertha
12 1996-09-04 Atlantis STS-79 Weather Atlantis was moved back to the VAB due to threat of severe weather from Hurricane Fran
13 1999-05-16 Discovery STS-96 Inspection failure Discovery was moved back to the VAB to repair hail damage to the external tank foam insulation
14 2001-01-02 Atlantis STS-98 Crawler failure Atlantis began rollout to Launch Pad 39A , but an hour later stopped on the crawler path so engineers could troubleshoot a failed computer processor on the crawler transporter . Troubleshooting efforts were unsuccessful , the shuttle was returned to the VAB using a secondary computer processor
15 2001-01-19 Atlantis STS-98 Inspection failure Atlantis was returned to the VAB due to uncertainty involving the integrity of the SRB cables
16 2005-05-26 Discovery STS-114 Component upgrade Discovery was returned to the VAB in order to get a new , modified external fuel tank in preparation for the first Return to Flight mission following the Columbia accident
17 2006-08-29 Atlantis STS-115 Weather Atlantis was moved back towards the VAB due to threat of severe weather from Tropical Storm Ernesto . However halfway through rollback , they elected to return Atlantis to the Pad due to improvement in the weather forecast
18 2007-03-04 Atlantis STS-117 Inspection failure Atlantis was moved back to the VAB after a hail storm damaged the foam insulation on the orbiter 's external tank , necessitating repairs . Atlantis was then successfully launched on June 8 , 2007
19 2008-10-20 Atlantis STS-125 Payload Atlantis was moved back to the VAB to allow time to troubleshoot a problem with the Hubble Space Telescope on orbit . Hardware to correct the problem was added to the STS-125 mission payload . Atlantis was then successfully launched on May 11 , 2009
20 2010-12-17 Discovery STS-133 External tank repairs Discovery rolled off the launch pad after insulating foam and two structural stringers on the external tank cracked during a launch attempt on November 5 , 2010 . The repair effort lasted two months as engineers beefed up the structural integrity of the structural members in question and replaced the foam that was removed to facilitate those repairs . The mission lifted off on February 24 , 2011 . The external tank performed flawlessly during fueling and launch
This is a list of Space Shuttle rollbacks . `` Rollback '' is the term NASA uses when the Space Shuttle was rolled back from the launch pad atop the mobile launcher platform and Crawler-transporter to the Vehicle Assembly Building ( VAB ) . A variety of factors could require a rollback , from severe weather to the need for repairs that could not be performed at the launch pad . Shuttle rollbacks are listed in chronological order : [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
This is a list of Space Shuttle rollbacks. Rollback is the term NASA uses when the Space Shuttle was rolled back from the launch pad atop the mobile launcher platform and Crawler-transporter to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). A variety of factors could require a rollback, from severe weather to the need for repairs that could not be performed at the launch pad. Shuttle rollbacks are listed in chronological order: