NASA fuels space shuttle for leak test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA is filling space shuttle Endeavour's fuel tank for a leak test.

Launch controllers began pumping a half-million gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen into the external fuel tank early Wednesday morning. They want to see whether repairs have plugged a hydrogen gas leak that prevented Endeavour from blasting off last
month.

Endeavour won't be flying Wednesday. But if the leak is fixed,NASA will try to send the shuttle to the international space station on July 11.

During two launch attempts in June, hydrogen gas escaped from a plate on the fuel tank that attaches to a vent line. Engineers believe a slight misalignment of the plate was to blame. A new type of seal and special washers were installed to correct the problem.