But questions remain as an independent oversight committee notes 3 of 15 recommendations haven’t been addressed.
The discussion heated up to the point where members argued at the public hearing. But NASA’s Return to Flight Task Group seems ready to approve the scheduled July launch of shuttle Discovery.
Grounded since the Columbia disaster in February 2003, then-administrator Sean O’Keefe pledged to have NASA adopt the recommendations of crash investigators before the shuttle would fly again. The oversight committee was created to monitor progress on those issues.
Twelve of them have been addressed. But the remaining three are the most difficult to complete. And Discovery may launch without fully addressing them.
One issue, to develop a way to make in-orbit repairs to the shuttle, became a hot topic. Committee members began arguing about this during the meeting. Some think this issue could result in a dissenting final report from some of the committee members.
Ice debris and “hardening” the shuttle against damage, along with the testy in-orbit repair question, form the three remaining issues. The ice debris question led NASA to postpone the original May launch window so it could install a heater on a bellows joint where supercold liquid oxygen passes. Concerns about ice forming at that point led to the modification.
One suggestion from NASA was accepted by the committee. In the event of an in-orbit problem, the crew could use the International Space Station as a temporary haven should the shuttle be too damaged to return to Earth.
Despite the remaining issues, the committee told reporters it had found no show-stoppers to delay the planned July launch. They should wrap up their work and submit a final opinion on NASA’s fulfillment of investigator recommendations by June 27th.
NASA has been accepting proposals for the shuttle’s replacement, called the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). The current shuttle fleet has been scheduled for retirement in 2010.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
