Technical problems may postpone shuttle launch

? Space shuttle Discovery has a fuel tank sensor that isn’t working properly and a dent in a robotic arm, potentially delaying its planned launch in May.

An official plans to hear a formal presentation from tank project managers before deciding whether the problems will push back the launch of the second shuttle mission since the doomed Columbia flight in 2003, NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said Tuesday in Orlando.

Options for the current problem include flying with just three sensors or swapping out parts.

Discovery’s robotic arm was bumped last Saturday by a vehicle that was being used to clean up broken glass from a light bulb that had fallen in the shuttle’s open payload bay. Engineers haven’t decided whether the arm will need to be changed out.