CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The International Space Station's first full-time tenants got the news Wednesday: They'll be staying at the orbital outpost an extra two weeks so NASA can fix the space taxi that will ferry them back home.
Sergei Krikalev (left), Yuri Gidzenko and Bill Shepherd celebrate first boarding the International Space Station and taking the radio call sign "Alpha" on Nov. 2, 2000.
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"Are you all right with the idea of staying up there about two weeks," NASA chief astronaut Charlie Precourt asked station commander Bill Shepherd during a late afternoon tag-up.
"Yeah, I don't have any problem with it, and I was just banking on things maybe not being exactly per plan anyway, so I don't think anybody is going to take that hard up here at all," Shepherd replied.
"That's what I kind of figured -- that you were already kind of clued in on it," Precourt added. "But it was official today."
Shepherd and two Russian colleagues -- cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev -- launched Oct. 31 on what was to be a 118-day stay in space. Their return to terra firma had been scheduled for Feb. 26.That, however, was before problems cropped up with jet thrusters on their ride home -- NASA's shuttle Discovery, which will be transporting a relief crew up to the station.
The shuttle and the Expedition Two crew -- which includes Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev and U.S. astronauts Susan Helms and James Voss -- had been slated to blast off Feb. 15.
The fresh station crew and four shuttle colleagues will be delivering research equipment and science experiments to the station during a planned 11-day flight.
The launch, however, now is being delayed until March 1 so NASA contractor technicians can replace faulty steering thrusters on the ship.
Shepherd took the news in stride -- and apparently, his wife, Beth, did too.
"I got to talk to Beth already. She knows about the slip, too, and (it was) no big surprise to anybody. I just wanted to close the loop with you guys," Precourt said.
"We're fine with it," Shepherd replied.
He jokingly added that the only problem might be the crew's wardrobe, which largely is limited to disposable clothing that usually is worn for a week at a time.
"We've got plenty of chow -- all the food and water we can drink," Shepherd told Precourt. "We could use a couple more T-shirts, but hey, we're getting by."
Shepherd and company now are scheduled to return to Earth aboard Discovery on March 12.
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