HOUSTON Despite the hectic pace NASA is confident it can handle seven or eight space shuttle launches per year to support construction of the International Space Station, a senior space agency official said Tuesday.

Upcoming Shuttle Launches

Sept. 8 - Atlantis -- Supply mission to ISS Oct. 5 - Discovery -- Deliver Z-1 truss and pressurized mating adaptor 3 to ISS Nov. 30 - Endeavour -- Deliver P6 solar array to ISS

Jan. 18, 2001 - Atlantis -- Deliver U.S. Laboratory module to ISS Feb. 15, 2001 - Discovery -- Deliver Leonardo module to ISS

April 19, 2001 - Endeavour -- Deliver Raffaello module to ISS May 17, 2001 - Atlantis -- Deliver airlock to ISS June 21, 2001 - Discovery -- Deliver logistics module to ISS

Delays in station construction along with technical problems with the four space shuttles kept the fleet grounded most of 1999. Numerous shuttle flights were scheduled in 1999 and 2000 to support construction of the station, but the two-year delay in delivery of the Russian-built service module left the shuttles without a mission while technicians sought to correct wiring problems in the orbiters.

The space agency flew three shuttle missions in 1999 and two missions so far in 2000, with three more planned before the end of the year. During a 12-month period in 1996 and 1997, the space agency flew nine missions.

Findings of a NASA-sponsored study issued in March were critical of the level of personnel staffing and skills to support shuttle operations. Dittemore said about 250 additional personnel have been hired for the shuttles prime contractor, United Space Alliance. About 4,000 people comprise the current shuttle workforce.

He said the increased staffing along with more efficient shuttle processing procedures would allow the agency to keep the rigorous flight schedule in support of the station. Managers are shooting for 70 to 80 days to process each shuttle, down from the current 100 to 120 days before each mission.

Dittemore said managers looked at the workforce numbers and procedures from the 1996 and 1997 time frame to get an idea of what is needed to support shuttle flights to the station.

He said positions ranging from technicians and mechanics in the Orbiter Processing Facility to crane operators and inspectors have been hired.

"We got a pretty good idea of what sort of workforce we needed to accomplish eight flights per year and we were below that," Dittemore said. "We put a plan in place to get the workforce, particularly in Florida, back to eight flights per year."

Improved procedures that reduced the number of personnel to process the shuttle include more rapid repair and replacement of the shuttles thermal tiles, automation of paperwork and elimination of management positions.

A potential showstopper for the Sept. 8 launch of Atlantis on a supply mission to the station is the recent discovery of an oily substance inside the back up oxygen regulator in the suits used for spacewalks. If activated, there is a slight chance the regulator could catch fire or explode.

A NASA contractor is cleaning out the regulators while engineers at Johnson Space Center try to determine the cause of the contamination. Dittemore said he thinks the work will be completed by the launch date, but it "will be tight."

Dittemore said hell push back the launch date if the work is not completed.

"If I look at the schedule and I think were rushed well change it," he said. "Theres nothing sacred about September 8."