Tim Furniss/LONDON
The International Space Station (ISS) project has been dealt a new blow with the delay of the next Space Shuttle assembly mission, STS101 Atlantis. NASA has moved it from February next year to no earlier than 16 March.
This comes after the Russian Proton launch failure on 27 October, which will delay the Zvezda service module launch.
The delay to the Atlantis mission, originally scheduled for early this year, is due to continuing repairs to wiring insulation damage on the orbiter and inspection of an ammonia boiler.
The Atlantis launch cannot proceed until the Zvezda lifts off, as STS101 is a logistics mission to equip the module once it is orbit. This is unlikely until at least one successful Proton launch has put back confidence in a vehicle which has failed twice in four months.
If STS101 does meet its new March deadline, its launch will come 10 months after the last occupation of the Station. The rest of the ISS activation will inevitably be delayed further, including the much-awaited launch of the first expedition crew and further assembly missions.
Up to nine Shuttle missions are manifested for next year ,a schedule which would stretch the Shuttle system to its limits. Six to seven missions a year is normally considered the limit and it is unlikely NASA would attempt more for safety and resource reasons.
Other Shuttle missions are also suffering delays. The launch of STS103 Discovery on the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission on 2 December is also being delayed a week to replace one of its main engines after a small drill bit was left in a combustion chamber. If the launch is delayed beyond 14 December it will be cancelled and pushed into early next year. There have only been three Shuttle missions this year.
STS103 will be followed on 13 January by the STS99 Endeavour Shuttle Radar Topography mission, before the ISS schedule kicks in with the delayed STS 101.
The recent Space Shuttle fleet problems, including frayed insulation on wires under the payload bay, are a direct result of delayed, under-funded upgrades, says former astronaut Andy Allen, director of Space Shuttle development at United Space Alliance, which operates the fleet on behalf of the space agency. The space agency says 57 exposed areas on wiring behind panels have been found in the payload bay of the Discovery. The Endeavour had 45 exposed conductors and 34 have so far been discovered on the Atlantis.
Source: Flight International
