NASA鈥檚 chief says the shuttle is ready to fly again 鈥� despite the agency not fully meeting all of the recommended safety fixes for the vehicle.
On Monday, an oversight panel said NASA had met the spirit of most of the 15 recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. But because of the specific wording of the recommendations, the task group declined to sign off on three, including one relating to the direct cause of shuttle Columbia鈥檚 loss in 2003.
But on Tuesday, NASA administrator Mike Griffin reaffirmed his faith in the shuttle鈥檚 safety. 鈥淚 think, based on what I know now, we鈥檙e ready to go,鈥� he told a US congressional committee.
Advertisement
A two-day review of the shuttle鈥檚 flight readiness will begin on Wednesday. During the review, NASA will set a launch date for the shuttle Discovery, which will be the first shuttle to fly since the Columbia disaster. The next available launch window extends from 13 to 31 July.
The three recommendations that remain 鈥渙pen鈥� include eliminating all foam and ice that may come off the external tank during launch 鈥� a problem that doomed Columbia; making the orbiter impervious to damage from foam and ice, and; developing in-space inspection and repair techniques for the orbiter鈥檚 heat shield.
Griffin emphasised the first two shuttle flights are tests of the improvements made after Columbia. 鈥淚t needs to be fully understood they carry the risk of test flights,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e simply do not have the capability to assess the efficacy of our improvements without return to flight.鈥�
