Space Uncertainty

Recently, in the New York times, there was an article discussing the problems facing a May take off of the space shuttle, Discovery. Although Nasa is still hoping to send the shuttle in to space between May 10 and May 23, it seems very unlikely this will happen. A main issue facing the lift off is the attachment of the external fuel tank. Usually, the tank would arrive and be attached months before the shuttle lifted off. In this case, however, the tank has yet to arrive let alone be attached, and there is only 2 months left until scheduled departure. Nasa also has to run tests to make sure that fuel tank will not be dangerous or damaging to the ship or anybody on board. "Wayne Hale and other managers emphasize that they would not rush the flight just to stay on schedule."

The shuttle Colubia is the prime example of why NASA should not rush the lift off. The Columbia began to be built in 1975. During a ground test on March 19, 1981, there was a nitrogen purge, resulting in the deaths of two crew members. The Columbia eventually went up into space for the first time on April 12, 1981. The commander was John Younge and the pilot was Robert Crippen. After orbiting the earth 36 times, the shuttle reentered on April 14, 1981. Then in April, 2003, with a crew of seven, the columbia went on it's final mission. Upon reentry, 39 miles above sea level the shuttle began to disintegrate. The cause of the crash was a hole in one of the wings. The hole had formed because a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank had peeled off 16 days earlier during the launch. The total number of flights taken by the shuttle was 28. NASA certainly will not take any chances with the shuttle Discovery since they certainly do not want another repeat of what happened to the shuttle Columbia.