Tank arrival buoys hopes for May NASA shuttle launch

Feb 28, 2006 — By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – The imminent arrival of a remodeled fuel tank for NASA’s second shuttle launch since the 2003 Columbia disaster has bolstered hopes that shuttle flights will be able to resume in May, space agency managers said on Tuesday.

The tank, extensively redesigned since falling insulation foam led to Columbia’s destruction and further remodeled since July’s flawed mission by the shuttle Discovery, was due to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday.

Before Discovery is cleared for launch, NASA must perform tests to ensure changes to the tank to stem foam loss during liftoff are safe, shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said.

“I remain optimistic,” Hale told reporters. “There remains a lot of work to be done. We won’t proceed until we’ve done the work to prove that it’s safe to fly.”

NASA has flown just one shuttle mission since the February 1, 2003, loss of Columbia and its seven-member crew. Foam that fell off the fuel tank during liftoff caused damage that triggered Columbia’s breakup over Texas as it returned to Earth 16 days later.

Engineers redesigned the tank and implemented dozens of safety upgrades for Discovery’s July 2005 flight, but large pieces of foam again fell off the tank.

The debris did not strike the orbiter, but NASA grounded the fleet again for more repairs.

The largest and most hazardous debris came from a slab of foam that served as a windshield for critical pressurization lines and a tray of cables. After discovering cracks in another shuttle tank, NASA decided to eliminate the slabs entirely.

Wind tunnel tests were scheduled to begin this week to determine if the equipment shielded by the foam ramps would be able to withstand the supersonic forces of liftoff.

“Any time you have pieces come off your craft in flight it’s a really bad day,” Hale said.

More than a dozen other technical concerns must also be resolved before managers set a firm launch date for Discovery. The earliest date NASA is considering is May 10.

In addition to testing post-Columbia safety upgrades, the next shuttle mission is intended to resupply the International Space Station, deliver a new station crew member and repair a station robotics system.

NASA has spent more than $1 billion since Columbia’s doomed mission to ready its remaining three shuttles for flight. The modules, trusses and equipment racks for the half-built space station were designed to be launched only on the shuttles.

The shuttle fleet is slated for retirement in 2010.