Tue, Feb 24, 2004
What Choice Do They Have?
Russia and Japan, two
key partners in the International Space Station, understand the
need to delay the U.S. space shuttles' return to flight until next
year, a top NASA official said on Friday. "They're not going to
push us or rush us in that regard ... They are comfortable with
where we're going," said Michael Kostelnik, the No. 2 official in
NASA's shuttle and space station program. He pointed out one key
reason why: "There is no other vehicle to complete assembly" of the
space station.
The three-ship shuttle fleet has been grounded since the fatal
mid-air disintegration of shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003. Since
then, NASA officials have proposed various launch windows for a
return to flight, each one later than the last. On Thursday,
NASA announced an expected launch window of March 6, 2005 to April
18, 2005 -- about six months later than the previous launch window
-- meant to give NASA time to test its external fuel tank and
develop a camera boom to let shuttle crews examine the outside of
the craft while in flight.
The fuel tank analysis
is critical, because investigators who probed the Columbia disaster
blamed it on foam insulation that fell from the external tank on
liftoff and struck the shuttle's left wing. This foam strike caused
a break in the wing's leading edge which let superheated gas get
into the shuttle on re-entry, ultimately tearing the ship apart and
killing all seven aboard. The camera boom is important because
investigators recommended that astronauts be able to inspect the
craft while in orbit for any possible damage.
Kostelnik said Russia, Japan and other partners in the
International Space Station have no objection to the delay in
returning the shuttle to flight, though he acknowledged,
"Obviously, it costs everybody more money when we sit on the ground
when we're ready to go."
The global partners -- which also include the space agencies of
Europe and Canada -- met last week to discuss President Bush vision
for space exploration, including a human moon mission by 2020 and
an eventual human mission to Mars. The Bush program will affect
construction of the orbiting space station, which since shortly
after the Columbia accident has operated with a two-person skeleton
crew who can now be reached only with Russian Soyuz and Progress
vehicles. Under Bush's plan, the shuttle fleet would be retired
after completing the station by the end of this decade. But
repeated delays in returning to flight could postpone
construction.
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