Posted on 08/07/2006 7:21:08 PM PDT by KevinDavis
NASA has decided it will have an orbiter on standby for a rescue mission for every Space Shuttle flight to the end of the programme in 2010.
After the 2003 Columbia accident, NASA planned for contingency Space Shuttle support missions to rescue a damaged orbiter's crew from the International Space Station (ISS), which would act as a safe haven.
Since the July 2005 Discovery/STS 114 return to flight mission, NASA has had a Shuttle undergoing pre-launch processing to prepare it to rescue a crew within 45 days of an in-orbit Shuttle emergency being declared. The agency's stated goal was to end the contingency support policy once post-Columbia Shuttle changes had been flight proven, but now NASA says: "We are planning to have a rescue mission for every flight until the end of the programme."
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
I just hope they don't get too cautious.
"Thunderbirds are go!"
...so every remaining flight will, of necessity, be to the ISS. No wonder they defunded the Hubble.
Bingo.
Yep - wrong orbit. can't do both on one mission.
Hmmm, I wonder whether NASA has enough Shuttles to do just that.
Wait a second...didn't they recently announce one of the remaining Shuttles was permanently grounded? Yup, sure did!
I wonder if any of the rocket scientists at NASA has yet to figure out that they could make Atlantis a permanent "rescue" Shuttle, keeping it at a high level of readiness for a one-time mission, rather than letting it become a permanent spare parts warehouse?
Kinda takes the sport out of it, doesn't it?
Yeah, and there's no way (IMHO) that the Shuttle will even be able to fly enough to complete the ISS -- which will shortly thereafter be obsolescent and ditched into the Pacific.
I guess the grounded one is Endeavor huh? I never heard that news. What's the deal? Why's she been grounded?
I thought Atlantis was the grounded one, due to it needing extensive overhaul that would take it to the end of the Space Shuttle program.
Either way, it seems dumb to me that NASA is shooting itself in the foot by cutting its usable Shuttle fleet by one third in the interest of non-existent savings.
Anyone else know?
NASA Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale told Kennedy Space Center employees in mid-February 2006 that Atlantis would be retired sometime in 2008 and would be used to supply parts for Discovery and Endeavour through the anticipated close of the Space Shuttle program in 2010. [1] Atlantis was chosen for early decommissioning to avoid a costly overhaul process that was slated to begin in 2008.
So, we're both right...kinda.
Please put me on your space ping list! Thanks.
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