Shuttle 'ready to go,' NASA chief says

WASHINGTON - U.S. astronauts will blast back into space in a matter of weeks, the head of NASA said Tuesday, despite a new, critical report questioning the safety of this exploration.

The optimistic assessment from NASA administrator Michael Griffin came after a task force review said Monday that the agency failed to meet key safety recommendations the came about as a result of the Columbia tragedy.

You know it says something about the mindset of this countries journalists when I read a article like this.

Now who would have guessed going from 0 to 17000 mph on top of a 1 million pounds of thrust generated by a partially controlled explosion is dangerous? Can you imagine such a thing the noise from the rockets can shake the ground 10 miles away, and somehow this is supposed to be made failsafe?

STS-114 to Demonstrate Repair Techniques, Deliver Equipment to Space Station

The STS-114 crewmembers will deliver supplies to the International Space Station, but the major focus of their mission will be testing and evaluating new Space Shuttle flight safety, which includes new inspection and repair techniques.

STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities are delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2.

The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks while at the ISS. The first spacewalk will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System. During the second, the spacewalkers will replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle. On the third, they will install the External Stowage Platform.

STS-114 PAYLOADS
International Space Station Assembly Flight UF-1

Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
The Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module will be making its second trip to the International Space Station during STS-114. The module will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, which was carried to the International Space Station on STS-98 in February 2001. Of the 16 racks the module can carry, this mission brings eight Resupply Stowage Racks and four Resupply Stowage Platforms.

IMAGE: The Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module

The Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module is backdropped over clouds and water on Earth during STS-100 when it was attached to the International Space Station.

Raffaello, which was provided by the Italian Space Agency, is the primary payload for STS-114. It is one of three such pressurized modules that serve as the ISS' "moving vans," carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the station aboard the space shuttle.

The unpiloted, reusable logistics modules function as both a cargo carrier and a space station module when flown. Mounted in the space shuttle's cargo bay for launch and landing, they are berthed to the station using the shuttle's robotic arm after the shuttle has docked. While berthed to the station, racks of equipment are unloaded from the module and then old racks and equipment may be reloaded to be taken back to Earth.

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