NASA Discussing Chances of Postponing May Launch
Posted on: Thursday, 28 April 2005, 15:25 CDT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Top NASA officials called a meeting Thursday to discuss the latest launch-debris analyses and the chances of holding to a May liftoff for the first space shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster.
Launch preparations for Discovery were put on hold for at least a day because of the deliberations.
NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said May 22 was still the official target launch date for Discovery's 12-day mission. But he said shuttle managers wanted to decide whether it can accomplish everything it needs to do in time for a liftoff then.
Senior NASA officials were scheduled to convene late in the afternoon, following a series of meetings earlier in the day by lower-ranking shuttle managers and engineers.
"The meeting this afternoon is to see exactly where we are and what additional work may or may not lie ahead of us to get back to flying safely," Beutel said.
NASA has until early June to launch Discovery - a window dictated by the space station's position and NASA's desire for a daylight launch. Otherwise, the flight will have to wait until mid-July.
Earlier this week, NASA officials and engineers spent two full days conducting an extra review of the dangers of debris falling off the shuttle's external fuel tank during liftoff.
Specifically, the space agency more closely analyzed the possibility of ice forming at two particular spots on the tank once it is filled with super-cold fuel, and the chances of foam insulation breaking off from a spot at the top of the tank.
Columbia was brought down in February 2003 by a gash in the left wing that was caused by a suitcase-size piece of foam that broke off the tank during liftoff. All seven astronauts were killed 16 days later during re-entry.
A task force overseeing NASA's return-to-flight effort plans to hold its final public meeting next week, more than a month late. The meeting was delayed from the end of March because of NASA's continuing debris tests.
The space agency wants the first two post-Columbia launches held in daylight to ensure good photography of the shuttle and its fuel tank, which has been modified to prevent big pieces of foam insulation from coming off.
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On the Net:
NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
Source: By MARCIA DUNN
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