The likelihood of the Space Shuttle Discovery return-to-flight mission STS 114 scheduled for March 2005 or later carrying all the equipment originally planned is slim, preventing NASA from meeting some of the primary recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
NASA has admitted that Discovery could fly without the new extended RMS inspection boom or the prototype tile repair kit to mend large holes of the type that caused the Columbia accident.
Mike Kostelnik, NASA Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) director, says that it might be necessary to develop a wrap to cover damage rather than develop a repair kit for large orifices. The STS 114 mission could basically be undertaken in what would have been its original form before the loss of the orbiter Columbia and its seven crew in February 2003 - a routine logistics mission to the ISS.
STS 114 will carry a tile repair kit, which can be used when attached to the ISS to repair smaller cracks or holes 100mm (4in) across, while cameras on the ISS will be used to inspect the underside of the orbiter for damage. The bi-pod area of the external tank, from which ice and foam fell and hit Columbia's underside, will not be covered by any foam.
NASA says it is concentrating on the way to avoid large holes being caused by debris hits from the external tank, rather than mending this type of damage in orbit. NASA has not yet decided whether to fly without the boom, but if the boom does fly it will probably mean a delay to the return to flight. The decision to launch STS 114 will be made not by NASA, but by the Stafford-Covey panel formed to review progress on the Shuttle modifications.
TIM FURNISS / LONDON
Source: Flight International
