NASA Says It's Ready to Expand Space Station Though Primed for Construction Project, Engineers Must First Get Shuttle Home Safely
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071500520.html By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page A07 HOUSTON, July 15 -- After a three-year delay, NASA engineers say they are finally ready to begin the most ambitious construction project ever attempted in space -- one that will double the size and weight of the international space station over the next 18 months. If all goes as well as the space shuttle's current flight, at the end of 2007 the station will have redesigned air-conditioning and electrical systems, a new docking port for the shuttle and four sets of solar arrays instead of one, giving the station a rotating span an acre in size to draw power from the sun. Astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Discovery spend their time in Space replenishing the International Space Station, repairing machinery and testing shuttle equipment. "You can see it now, when it goes over at night," said Paul Hill, the mission's lead flight director. "But with the new arrays, the station will become the first man-made object in orbit that you can see with the naked eye during daylight." But first, Mission Control must assure that space shuttle Discovery makes it home Monday without mishap. After 11 days in space, the orbiter appeared Saturday to have enjoyed a near flawless journey. Discovery, driven by Pilot Mark Kelly and carrying shuttle Commander Steven W. Lindsey and four other astronauts, undocked from the space station at 6:08 a.m. Eastern time, backed off 350 feet, then fired its thrusters to climb above and away. "Have a safe journey back," radioed space station Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams. "Soft landings, and we'll see you in a few months." The shuttle crew spent Saturday stowing equipment and gear, and using infrared cameras to check the front edges of the wings and nose cap for micrometeorite damage. It was expected to be cleared Sunday for landing. Mission managers will also decide Sunday what to do about a slow leak in the fuel tank feeding one of three auxiliary turbines powering the shuttle's hydraulic system. John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team, said the leak poses no danger, but that engineers might decide to empty the tank before landing just to be safe. If that happens, Lindsey will use explosive triggers to lower the landing gear. Shannon said this is a standard backup procedure but that they have never been used before. The spacecraft is scheduled to touch down at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 9:14 a.m. Eastern time, but if the weather is bad, it will stay in orbit and try again. In fact, shuttle planners have indicated that Discovery is prepared to stay in orbit until Wednesday waiting for Kennedy to clear, rather than divert to backup landing sites at Edwards Air Force Base, in California, or the White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico. A landing away from Kennedy would mean that Discovery would have to be ferried home to Florida on the back of a modified Boeing 747, an expensive and time-consuming process that would strain the preparation schedule for coming missions, an important consideration with NASA planning at least six more flights by the three orbiters by the end of 2007. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
