Fueling Anomaly Explained
All is proceeding nominally at Kennedy Space Center as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter counts down toward lift-off.
It is currently about an hour and fifteen minutes before scheduled lift-off, barring any holds.
NASA TV reports through its anchor, George Dillon, that the fueling anomaly experienced yesterday has been investigated and was attributed to a lightning strike 0.6 miles from the launch site that resulted in an automated check of critical launch systems. The result was a reconfiguration of a flight status system that differed from the actual fuel state of the spacecraft, with the readings showing that the Centaur upper stage fuel tank was full when in fact it was only five percent filled. The anomaly is well-understood and the problem is deemed solved.
Fueling has begun and live television coverage reveals normal gaseous venting from beneath the Centaur stage.
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