As recently as last month, the agency hoped to fly again by next spring.
But on Friday, William Readdy, associate administrator for spaceflight
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said the new
target date was more realistic, given the amount of testing and
modifications that still needed to be done.

Procrastination time is here again! Delay, Delay, Delay, and Delay.

Moreover, the officials said, both the first flight and a second mission
to the space station in late fall or in winter 2004 will be considered
test flights. Their main purpose will be to confirm that all the
modifications work properly before getting back to the shuttles' primary
mission, completing construction of the station.


Yeah what's the hurry! With 3 flights a year, NASA is going to waist 2 of them
on test flights. This is a terrible Joke! By the time NASA finishes its space
station with the stupid shuttle. China will have launched two. NASA seems to
think that finishing an antique space station in 3 or 4 decades is the same as
finishing the station in 1. Some projects after so many delays just aren't
worth continuing. Seems worthwhile to look at developing alternative vehicles
rather than fixing the shuttle and putting a "Chuck Yeager" in the cockpit to
test it, so he'll have the "Right Stuff"

Tom