 | U.S. Urged to Keep Shuttles Flying Past 2010 December 17, 2007 6:24pm in science |
A United States Representative is proposing that NASA keep the shuttle fleet flying past its scheduled 2010 retirement date. After the Columbia tragedy back in 2003, the review board recommended that the shuttle fleet be retired in 2010 unless the fleet was re-certified. Being that the shuttle fleet is getting old, this recommendation did not seem too out of place. Two proposals, one would see the Space Shuttles flying until 2013 cutting the gap between the STS program and the Orion program, and the second would see the Space Shuttles flying until 2015 when the first manned Orion missions are scheduled to be launched. NASA currently has an exemption until 2011 allowing them to purchase Russian Soyuz Rockets despite the ban on the purchasing of Soyuz rockets designed to slow Iran from nuclear weapons technology, since Russia is accused of helping Iran in such endeavors. NASA's second option, should the shuttle fleet be retired would fall on the private sector, but the private sector doesn't yet seem ready for the task. Keeping the shuttle fleet flying past 2010 could be counterproductive though as NASA administrator Michael Griffin said last month:
"Flying the space shuttle past 2010 would carry significant risks, particularly to our efforts to build and purchase new transportation systems that are less complex, less expensive to operate, and better suited to serving both (the space station) and exploration missions to the moon, Mars and beyond"
The argument could also be made that NASA and the US should keep their presence in space, and a few more years with the shuttle could help do just that. I would like to see the shuttle go past 2010, it is, despite its downfalls, a very capable machine and its already proven itself to be quite robust in its capabilities. Only time will tell if congress will give NASA the money it needs to either bring the timetable for Orion forward, or extend the life of the shuttles. U.S. urged to keep space shuttle flying past 2010 [news.yahoo.com] Tags: nasa, shuttle, spaceshuttle, news, links |
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| NASA Delays Atlantis Launch til January December 10, 2007 6:55am in science |
NASA delayed the launch of STS-122 Atlantis until January 2, 2008 as a fuel sensor in the external fuel tank showed the same glitch that prompted the initial delay on Thursday. This type glitch had previously been seen on STS-114 back in July 2005 for Discovery's first return to flight mission following the Columbia Tragedy in 2003. NASA has 3 primary reasons for doing this. The first is obviously the glitch, if the sensors report that the tank is full when it is really empty, the Shuttle's 3 main engines won't cut off and could result in massive damage to the orbiter which would obviously cause major problems. The second is that they want the solar wings of the International Space Station to be generating optimal power while Atlantis is docked. If they launch now, that won't happen. The third reason is the New Years Bug. Apparently the Space Shuttle computers can't properly handle the switch in years from December 31 to January 1. NASA was worried last year about Discovery's STS-116 mission, but they were able to launch and land prior to Christmas so it all worked out. NASA has a fix for it, but they'd rather not use it if they can avoid it. This bit of bad news comes after NASA successfully launched 3 Space Shuttle missions in 2007, so while it may be a sour note that they can't get the 4th launch in, they at least have something good they can look back on. Tags: space, news, nasa, astronomy, spaceshuttle |
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| NASA Gives Discovery the Go Ahead for Launch October 17, 2007 12:37pm in science |
 NASA has given Space Shuttle Discovery a green light for launch currently scheduled next week on October 23rd at 11:38 am. Concerned about three of the reinforced carbon carbon, engineers have decided that there is no risk to the mission or Discovery's crew. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony node to the International Space Station. Discovery will also do a crew exchange for the ISS dropping off Daniel Tani and bringing home Clayton Anderson. Assuming weather and any other issues permit, Discovery will launch October 23rd and land November 6th. It's Discovery's first launch since December 2006. Space Shuttle Discovery is "Go" for Launch [NASA.gov] |
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