Delays threaten station timetable

Delays threaten station timetable

Future flights may be scrubbed

BY TODD HALVORSON
and JOHN KELLY ADVERTISEMENT


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NASA does not launch money into space. They launch hardware. The
money stays on the ground and flows from the government, back into the
hands of working taxpayers.

Posted by: destinationspace on Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:04 pm

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Oh the trials and tribulations of the Gov't funded work/welfare
project for aerospace engineers. There is nothing more exciting or
humanly fulfilling than to shoot Money into outer space.

Posted by: Joe Blow on Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:32 am

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CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA's task to fix a hail-hammered shuttle fuel tank
creates uncertainties about its ability to resume International Space
Station assembly this spring and launch European and Japanese science
labs by year's end.

A potential three-month delay in the next shuttle flight raises
questions about agency plans to finish building and outfitting the
station by a September 2010 deadline set by President Bush.

But officials hope Atlantis and six astronauts can set sail during a
launch period from April 22 through May 21. Otherwise, the crew will
not fly before June 8.

A recovery plan for the next shuttle mission should be complete late
next week.

"There's still optimism that we can launch within that window," said
Kyle Herring, a spokesman for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The window ensures proper temperatures on a shuttle docked at the
station.

Atlantis and its crew had been scheduled to launch today. But the
shuttle's 15-story external tank sustained serious damage during a
freak hail storm on Feb. 26.

More than two weeks later, inspectors still are mapping damage to foam
insulation that covers the tank.

And questions about NASA's long-term shuttle launch schedule remain
unanswered.

NASA plans to launch 16 missions to complete station construction and
stock the outpost before the shuttle fleet is retired.

Five flights are to launch this year.

The last mission will launch in July 2010, and a three-month slip in
the Atlantis flight would eliminate the margin in a tight schedule.
Further delays could force NASA to cancel flights. Two supply runs
would be candidates.

Independent safety experts consider those missions crucial to
operating the station until at least 2016. They also question whether
NASA should press ahead with the $100 billion project if the outpost
can't be completed as planned.

"The basic ISS objectives would be compromised, thus raising the
question of whether ISS operations should be continued," the experts
said in a Feb. 27 report.

The independent safety task force examined vulnerabilities that could
lead to the destruction of the station, compromise the health of its
crew members or force astronauts to abandon ship.

Even before the hailstorm, the investigators red-flagged schedule
pressure as a significant risk to the project's completion.

They said the existing schedule represented "a reasonable flight rate
if no major problems are encountered that cause launch delays." But
they also raised concerns about the possible cancellation of the
supply runs.

Once the fleet is retired, NASA will have no guaranteed way to launch
large spare parts like heavy gyroscopes that keep the station flying
properly in orbit.

The devices have proven to be prone to failure, and they are just one
example of spare parts needed to keep the station flying safely.

Also to be hauled up: extra shielding to protect the station from
micrometeorite or debris strikes that could penetrate the hull,
destroying the outpost and killing all aboard. NASA studies predict
there is a 55 percent chance of a penetrating strike over a 10-year
period. The chance of a catastrophic strike: nine percent. The extra
shielding and other measures would reduce those odds to 29 percent and
5 percent, respectively.

The supply runs "are needed to assure the long-term viability and
perhaps survivability of the ISS," the investigators said.

They urged the White House, Congress and NASA to launch all remaining
missions to the station.

NASA is in a bind. The agency must retire the shuttle on time so it
can afford to build a replacement. Even at this point, the replacement
will not be ready to fly before late 2014.

However, NASA chief Mike Griffin has a one-word answer for those
asking if the agency would keep the shuttle flying after the deadline:
"No."