THE planned launch date for the first space shuttle to fly since the Columbia disaster is now 15 May 2005. But so far NASA has met only half of the return-to-flight recommendations made after the tragedy in February 2003.
Of the 15 recommendations set by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, seven have not been met. They include developing an in-flight technique to inspect and repair the shuttle鈥檚 insulating skin, hardening the orbiter鈥檚 outer layers, and stopping big chunks of foam falling off the external tank. In addition, NASA has not yet met one of its own goals: to make it possible for the shuttle to use the International Space Station as a 鈥渟afe haven鈥� in an emergency.
But the agency says it will meet all recommendations by lift-off. 鈥淲e have every expectation we are going to close all of them,鈥� says Bill Readdy, NASA鈥檚 associate administrator for space operations. The biggest challenge to getting the shuttles back into space is the mountain of paperwork that has to be completed, he says.
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