Space race

Hindustan Times ^ | 7/29/07 | Prakash Chandra

[KevinDavis]

NASA is racing the clock for a space shuttle flight — and desperately hoping it never gets off the ground. Not Endeavour — scheduled to lift off next week with a crew of seven, including schoolteacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan — but sister shuttle Discovery, which is being readied for launch at short notice. Discovery will mount a rescue mission if Endeavour flies into trouble and its crew has to be brought back.

After Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere in February 2003, scientists developed several methods for repairing stricken shuttles. These include wing sensors to detect impacts, a redesigned fuel tank to prevent debris from heat shields damaging it, and a lengthened robot arm to scan the shuttle’s skin for damage. Nasa, however, is still not confident about fixing an orbiting shuttle and wants marooned astronauts to take refuge on the half-built international space station (ISS) and wait for a rescue crew. They could then ride home in reclining seats, which lessen the effects of returning to Earth’s gravity and allow the rescue ship to carry 11 people instead of the normal seven.

[KevinDavis]