This story was updated at 6:52 p.m. EDT.
NASA is
taking a look at what might be required to postpone the retirement of its three
space shuttles until their Orion capsule replacement begins operational flight
in 2015, but only as a preparatory measure for Congress and the incoming president,
agency officials said Friday.
The study, called
for by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, is aimed at preparing for inquiries on
how the agency intends to fill the gap between the shuttle fleet's retirement in
2010 and the first
flights of Orion, said John Yembrick, a spokesperson for spaceflight
operations at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
"The Administrator
asked the program managers to evaluate this potential of flying through 2015," Yembrick
told SPACE.com, stressing that the agency currently is not planning to
fly shuttles beyond 2010. "We're doing the analysis so we can gather the data,
and so when we're asked we can give some smart, timely answers."
Yembrick
said NASA officials hope to complete the study by the end of September. It was
spurred in part by a recent letter by presidential candidate
John McCain (R- Ariz.) and other senators that beseeched President George
W. Bush to avoid actions that would prevent NASA from being able to continue
flying space shuttles beyond 2010. Presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
has also pledged support for NASA's Constellation program, which includes Orion
development, and said in the past that adding additional shuttle
flights to close the gap between Orion and shuttle retirement was a possibility.
NASA
currently has a deal with Russia to fly astronauts to the International Space
Station aboard Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft through 2011, but would have to
seek new approvals from Congress to extend the agreement beyond that deadline.
An internal
e-mail discussing the new study was posted to the Web site of the Florida newspaper
the Orlando Sentinel on Friday.
NASA plans
to launch 10 more shuttle missions by 2010 to complete construction of the
International Space Station and overhaul the Hubble Space Telescope. The
shuttle's successor, the Orion Crew Launch Vehicle and its Ares I rocket, are
not expected to begin crewed flights until 2015 at the latest, though NASA is
working toward an internal 2014 target for the first operational missions.
Fall
launch date under review
Meanwhile, NASA
mission managers are discussing whether to push back the planned
Oct. 8 launch of the shuttle Atlantis on the final flight overhaul the Hubble
Space Telescope due processing delays spawned the recent Tropical Storm Fay.
Fay passed over
NASA's Kennedy Space Center spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Fla., last week, forcing
the center to close for several days until the weather cleared. Challenges
readying the new instruments and replacement parts to launch toward Hubble
aboard Atlantis could delay the mission by two days or so, but NASA will
continue to work toward an Oct. 8 liftoff as long as possible, Yembrick said.
"Because of
Fay, the payload is going to be delayed getting out on the launch pad," he
added. "If that happens, we'll have to reassess launch dates accordingly."
Atlantis'
seven-astronaut crew will haul new science instruments and spare parts to
Hubble for the fifth
and final service mission to the iconic orbital observatory. That equipment
was slated to be delivered to the launch pad by Sept. 17, but may now arrive
two days late due to Fay-related delays, Yembrick said.
NASA is
also tracking two more storms, Hurricane Gustav in the Caribbean and Tropical
Storm Hannah in the Atlantic Ocean and their possible impact to space center
activities.
As of 5:00
p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), Gustav was nearing hurricane strength as it moved west-northwest
toward the Cayman Islands. The storm was about 100 miles (160 km) to the
east of Grand Cayman and moving northwest at about 12 mph (19 kph) with
maximum sustained winds reaching speeds of nearly 75 mph (120 kph), according
to the National Hurricane Center.
The center's
three-day projections predict Gustav will pass over Cuba and reach the coast of
Louisiana early next week. NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, which builds the
external fuel tanks used for space shuttle launches, is based in New Orleans,
while the agency's Stennis Space Center that tests shuttle main engines is
based in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Yembrick
said both the Michoud and Stennis centers will be closed after the Labor Day holiday
on Monday, though employees should call in on Tuesday to be sure.
Tropical
Storm Hannah, meanwhile, was passing about 215 miles (345 km) north of the Leeward
Islands and moving about 12 mph (19 kph) with maximum sustained winds of about 50
mph (85 kph). Current forecasts for Hannah predict the storm will turn west toward the Bahamas over the next
several days, according to a National Hurricane Center chart.
advertisement
