cracked door hinges found on second of 3 space shuttles

The space agency said today that, like those who threatened to postpone the military mission of space shuttle Discovery next month, the cracked door hinge has been found on another shuttle.
NASA spokesman Lisa Malone said an inspection of the space shuttle Columbia found two of its four door hinges broken.
Initially, officials believed
The corrosive paint on the aluminum hinge came off.
Hinge on two doors in the belly of the shuttle, once the external fuel tank falls off after a few minutes of takeoff, the hinge should be closed. If the four-foot-
The square door was not closed tightly when the shuttle restarted
The spacecraft may be destroyed when it enters the atmosphere.
The hinge of the third space shuttle Atlanta looks good, although the test continues, Ms. Malone said.
Atlanta plans to fly in early April;
The Columbia will not launch until possible.
The plan to test the HingesNASA engineer is working on a plan to test the Colombian hinge to determine whether it is safe to launch on schedule around March 9.
If repairs are required, this discovery may take several weeks to transfer from the launch pad to the hangar.
There is no spare part for the hinge, if the cracked hinge cannot be repaired, it will take several months to make the new hinge, Ms. Malone said.
Since the shuttle is in a horizontal position in the hangar, the hinges of Colombia can be reached;
Now this discovery is upright on the launch stage.
Officials say they don\'t know what causes the cracks or when they happen.
The two cracks found on the hinge are 2 inch long each, while the two cracks on Columbia are less than half an inch long.
In the discovery of 8-
During the day\'s flight, astronauts will release a spacecraft that studies the spacecraft\'s plume.
The Pentagon wants to use this information to develop sensors to detect enemy missiles.