In-Space Repair a Challenge to NASA
Posted on: Thursday, 20 May 2004, 06:00 CDT
In-space repair a challenge to NASA
Task force creating an inspection boom
Associated Press
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- NASA is still struggling to develop a means to inspect and repair any space shuttle gashes in orbit, a hurdle that could prevent flights from resuming next spring, an oversight panel said Wednesday.
The biggest challenge involves a 50-foot inspection boom that has been under development for months.
Richard Covey, a former astronaut in charge of the return-to- flight task force, said the schedule for solving the problem is tight, and launches might have to be postponed, unless an alternative to the boom is found.
The task force was created to evaluate whether the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is meeting the recommendations of investigators examining the 2003 Columbia disaster.
According to the interim task force report Wednesday, NASA faces "enormous challenges" and needs to narrow its options soon and start focusing on the best alternatives.
This year, NASA postponed the first post-Columbia shuttle launch from fall to March, at the earliest, in part to buy more time to solve the inspection-and-repair problem and find a way to stop insulating foam from falling off the spaceship at liftoff.
NASA could hold off on the boom and use spacewalkers to check for damage under the shuttle wings or on the belly, Covey said. The spacewalks would take valuable time, however, and pose additional risk to the crew.
If the spacewalkers could not repair the shuttle, the astronauts would move into the International Space Station until a rescue ship could be launched. That would save the crew, but not necessarily the shuttle.
The boom could reach most, if not all, of the thermal protective layer on the ship's underside. Sensors and lasers on the end would hunt for any holes or cracks, and the astronauts might be able to stand on the end of the boom to make repairs.
The major technical hurdles include adapting the sensors, developing the software, and making the boom stable enough to stand on.
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