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Space Shuttle Fleet Grounded Until September
By Sam Silverstein
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 04:00 pm ET
12 July 2002
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NASA's space shuttle fleet is likely to remain grounded until at least early September while technicians investigate tiny cracks that discovered on pipes in the main engines of all four orbiters, according to shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore NASA's space shuttle fleet is likely to remain grounded until at least early September while technicians investigate tiny cracks discovered on pipes in the main engines of all four orbiters, according to shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore. The cause of the cracks remains unknown, but NASA officials believe all have a common root because the cracks appeared regardless of each launcher's age or the number of times it has flown, Dittemore said during a July 12 press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Investigators first discovered the cracks on the space shuttle Atlantis in June, and later on Discovery, Columbia and Endeavour. NASA also found cracks on test equipment used before the first shuttle was flown more than two decades ago, Dittemore said. The likelihood that the cracks are not appearing randomly suggests they do not pose as great a safety risk as NASA thought when the mysterious flaws were first identified, Dittemore said. However, he said NASA is engaged in a broad effort to determine why the cracks occurred and how best to repair the pipes. "My concern from a safety point of view has diminished...but I'm not saying I'm ready to go fly." Dittemore said he is confident the shuttle fleet can be returned to service by September or October -- in time for the next scheduled mission to bring home crewmembers now on the international space station. He said NASA as not made any adjustments to the order of flights planned for the coming months despite the space agency's inquiry into the cause of the cracks.
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