Tim Furniss/LONDON
Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS101 has been re-scheduled for 18 May, causing further setbacks to the International Space Station.
The latest launch date was agreed by NASA to allow Atlas IIA, Titan 1VB and Delta II launches from Cape Canaveral to be conducted as planned ahead of Atlantis.
The Atlas IIA launch of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Environmental Observation Satellite was due for launch on 3 May while the maiden flight of the Atlas IIA is planned for 15 May.
Atlantis has already suffered three weather-related launch cancellations on consecutive days and NASA did not want to halt other launches in early May (Flight International, 2-8 May).
The Atlantis mission, to conduct repairs and replace equipment on the Russian Zarya and US Unity modules, will also include an evaluation of a one-person submarine during the solid rocket motor retrieval operations.
The submarine is part of a programme by the United Space Alliance - the Lockheed-Boeing company that operates the Shuttle for NASA - to increase the safety of all phases of operations.
The Deep Worker submarine will evaluate the ability to perform the work of divers who have to retrieve the Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters during hazardous procedures 36m (120ft) under water.
Meanwhile, Russia's Khrunichev Space Centre says that all basic technical parameters of the Zarya module, which was launched in 1998 to form the first part of the ISS, fully comply with NASA technical standards. Russia refutes the claim that the module does not meet basic standards over noise levels and meteoroid impact protection.
The Russian Space and Aviation Agency has issued similar denials about the technical standards of the Zvezda service module, which is to be launched to the ISS on 12 July. The agency also denies that STS101 is a "repair" mission to overhaul the Zarya module, although it admits that the sound levels in Zarya are unacceptable. New sound insulation panels will be installed by the Atlantis crew.
Assuming that the launch of the Russian Zvezda service module takes place on 12 July, the first expedition crew to the ISS will be launched on a Soyuz TM booster on 30 October, to be replaced by the second permanent crew in February 2001, which will be replaced in June 2001.
• SpaceHab has received an additional $21.6 million from NASA as part of the Research and Logistics Mission Support contract signed in 1997 to perform the resupply mission to the ISS being flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis STS106 in August.
STS106 will carry a SpaceHab Logistics Double Module and an Integrated Cargo Carrier in preparation for the ISS receiving its first crew.
Source: Flight International
