Four-Day Delay Gives NASA A Little More Time

NASA just got a little help from its Russian counterpart... four extra days before the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, now scheduled for September 18. That gives NASA more time to launch the shuttle Atlantis.

Delayed first by a lightning strike -- then by the approach of Tropical Storm Ernesto -- it now looks like Atlantis will be launched Wednesday, September 6. If the launch is delayed again, however... Russia's decision to hold off on the next Soyuz launch gives NASA two more days to get Atlantis into space.

As Aero-News reported Thursday, if NASA can't fit the launch in that window, then it looks like STS-115 won't get off the ground until next month... although the agency may consider a nighttime launch to better meet that adjusted schedule.

The Russians have wanted to maintain a separation of several days between shuttle and Soyuz visits to the International Space Station so crews could adjust their body clocks to the visitors' different schedules.

There was also concern a shuttle launch past September 7 would force the Russian agency to change the launch date for their Soyuz TMA-9 capsule -- which would have meant a nighttime landing for the capsule, something they wanted to avoid as Roskosmos recently hired a new private company for capusle recovery (read, it would cost more.)

In the end, however, the Russians determined NASA's schedule would not interfere with Soyuz -- as long as Atlantis undocks from the ISS by September 17.

FMI: www.federalspace.ru/, www.nasa.gov