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14 October
Video - Space Shuttle Status News Conference
http://space-tv.6x.to/

Info News Conference:

NASA MAKES PROGRESS UNDERSTANDING SHUTTLE TANK FOAM LOSS

Engineers are moving closer to resolving the problem of large foam
insulation falling off space shuttle external fuel tanks during launch.
A "tiger team" is making recommendations addressing the factors that
may have contributed to foam loss when the space shuttle Discovery
(STS-114) was launched in July.

The next shuttle mission is also on Discovery. It will be the second
test flight in the Return to Flight sequence. At a news conference
today at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, space shuttle managers
emphasized they have not set a specific launch date. NASA is using the
May 3 to 23, 2006, launch window as a target for work to prepare
Discovery for the mission.

Shuttle workers will likely replace and modify areas of insulation on
the external tank where foam came loose during the July launch. Space
Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said a series of tests over the next
several weeks would help further clarify the tank issues. "I think
we're beginning to have our hands well around the technical problems we
have and we are defining the fixes necessary to fly again," he said.

Factors contributing to the decision to target the May launch window
include outstanding tank work and the effect on the NASA workforce by
Hurricane Katrina. NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans
and the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi were in the storm's path.
Much of their workforce has been displaced by the storm.

Since external tanks are manufactured at Michoud, work there is
crucial. Approximately 25 percent of the workforce is back on the job.
If improvements to transportation and infrastructure go as planned, the
full staff should be back at work by early December.

"Workers at Michoud have just done a phenomenal job," said Associate
Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier. "They've shown
tremendous dedication and a tremendous desire to show up to work to
help us out."

Rick Gilbrech is head of the NASA tiger team. He said the team had
identified several possible factors contributing to the foam loss. The
team recently completed an interim report to NASA management. The
report identifies several technical recommendations and "lessons
learned," including advising NASA to implement additional engineering
rigor to further reduce schedule pressure in decision-making.

The team's interim technical report will be available on the Web today
at:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle