The recent Hurricane Ivan sent schedules back at Kennedy Space Center, but the truth of the matter is, they are having problems solving the problem areas inherent in the Space Shuttle plan.
Uh, yeah, but we knew that they couldn't repair the RCC in orbit before we ever sent up the first one into orbit. In fact they don't even have the means to reduce the risk of the RCC getting damaged. In short, they've been throwing dice that it doesn't get damaged for all the launches they've made (and one time, they rolled a bad number and it blew up on reentry). This is nothing new, as it pertains to the structural problem of the shuttle project. Aiyah.Task group officials said the biggest challenges ahead for NASA pertain to modifications to the space shuttle's external tank. NASA engineers have modified the tank to prevent the shedding of insulating foam during launch, but a complete analyses of the new tank will most likely not be completed until February 2005, Stafford said.
NASA is currently targeting March 2005 for its first return-to-flight mission STS-114 with the Discovery shuttle.
"The long pole in the tent right now is the tank," Stafford said. "The validation of these items on the tank are the major [challenges]."
Stafford and Covey did say that NASA officials are gaining ground in work to develop repair capabilities for astronauts should they discover damage to their spacecraft's heat resistant tiles of reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) panels in orbit. Foam damage to the RCC panels on Columbia's left wing during launch is believed to have led to its destruction upon reentry.
"What they will have is a very limited ability to repair RCC," Covey said of NASA's return to flight missions.
- Art Neuro
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