While NASA Fiddles, Space Station Components Sit Idle On The
Ground
NASA's international partners in the International Space Station
are growing anxious about progress on the station's construction as
the space shuttle program continues to struggle with technical
problems and the resulting delays.
The following is a weekend statement by Eileen Collins,
commander of the Space Shuttle's STS-114 mission: "My crew will
remain in quarantine for the near future, maintaining our
proficiency for this mission. We are keeping in close touch with
the troubleshooting plan; we have confidence that the best people
are working it. In fact, the plan our engineers have put together
is impressive, and we are very proud of the work they are
doing!"
Space enthusiasts in Russia were encouraged late last week as
the Cabinet gave preliminary approval to a 10-year space
exploration program. The program provides for 305 billion rubles
($10.7 billion) to be spent on civil space projects from 2006 to
2015. That's less than the US space budget for one year.
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