Mon, Sep 08, 2003
Space Agency Moves Quickly To Meet CAIB Recommendations
When NASA reveals its
"Return To Flight" plan Monday, the agency will explain just how it
plans to implement recommendations from the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board (CAIB) in time to get a shuttle back in orbit
by March.
The New York Times, claiming to have obtained a copy of
the "Plan for the Return To Flight and Beyond," shows exactly what
steps NASA proposes to take to comply with the 29 CAIB
recommendations made after the investigation into why Columbia
broke apart during re-entry. The February 1st destruction of
Columbia killed all seven astronauts on board.
In its plan, NASA promises to develop ways to "harden" the
shuttle, according to The Times. Other plans include
development of a heat-resistant "band-aid" to patch external hull
breaches. NASA says it's going above and beyond the CAIB
recommendations by exploring ways to use the constantly-manned
International Space Station as a haven for shuttle crews with
noplace else to go. Columbia, the first production version of the
shuttle, was too heavy to make the ISS's 240-mile orbital
altitude.
The space agency also
promises better training for mission managers like Linda Hamm. In
taped teleconferences with other mission managers, she dismissed
the possibility of a hull breach. She said, since there was nothing
shuttle crew members could have done about a hull breach caused by
launch debris, the issue wasn't a problem.
NASA must complete 15 of the CAIB's 29 tasks before launching
another shuttle mission. That's a lot of work between now and
NASA's next launch date, in March.
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