Discovery still grounded

2005-06-28 08:49

Cape Canaveral - A panel overseeing Nasa's resumption of shuttle flights concluded on Monday that the space agency has failed to meet the tougher safety recommendations put in place after the Columbia disaster.

Despite exhaustive work and considerable progress over the past 2 1/2 years, Nasa has been unable to eliminate the possibility of dangerous pieces of foam and ice from breaking off the external fuel tank and striking the shuttle at lift-off, the return-to-flight task force noted.

In addition, Nasa still does not have a clear idea of all the potential threats from ice, and still lacks a practical way of fixing holes and other damage caused by flyaway launch debris, the group said.

The findings came after a deliberate and prolonged discussion by the 26-member task force marked by some dissent. It was the group's last planned public meeting, and the chair said he would present a summary report to Nasa before its leaders gather later this week to set a formal launch date for Discovery.

Nasa has been aiming for a lift-off of Discovery as early as July 13 on the first mission since Columbia's destruction during re-entry on February 1 2003.

Task force chair Richard Covey, a former astronaut, stressed that the three recommendations debated on Monday represented the most technically challenging of the 15 put forth by Columbia accident investigators as being essential for the resumption of shuttle flights.

The task force found in previous sessions that Nasa has complied with those 12 other recommendations considered essential for the resumption of shuttle flights.

Will now later

While Nasa has come up with good techniques for inspecting the shuttle in orbit, it does not meet the intent of the Columbia investigators' recommendation for having the capability to make emergency repairs in space, the task force said. The space agency has also put off long-term improvements to the shuttle's thermal shielding because of the fleet's planned retirement in 2010, making full compliance with the recommendations impossible in some cases.

Nasa administrator Michael Griffin has insisted for weeks that he and his top managers will provide the final word on when and whether it's safe to resume shuttle launches, regardless of what advisory groups like the task force have to say.

Covey said Griffin will take the task force's independent advice and use it to determine whether it's safe for shuttles to fly.

"We will not make a specific determination on whether it's time to return to flight. That wasn't our charter," Covey said.

A suitcase-size chunk of insulating foam came off Columbia's external fuel tank during lift-off in January 2003 and carved a hole in the left wing that let in deadly atmospheric gases during re-entry two weeks later. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.

- AP