Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/iss041003.html
The heads of the American Space Agency (NASA) have announced that they have postponed the launch of the next shuttle until September 2004. So far there has been talk of resuming the flights in March or April 2004.
This decision will have an impact on the maintenance of the International Space Station. On October 18, a Soyuz spacecraft will take off to the space station with three people on board: the American-British astronaut Michael Powell, the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Clary who will replace Yuri Melanchenko and Edward Lu - members of the current crew of the space station. Together with them, the Spaniard Pedro Duca, representing the European Space Agency, will take off. Duka will stay a week at the station, perform experiments there and return to Earth together with Melanchenko and Lu. Yesterday, a Progress spaceship that brought supplies to the space station crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The launch of the shuttle was postponed for the third time, and according to NASA this was done due to the belief that the agency needed more time to make the changes and repairs following the publication of the conclusions of the investigative committee that investigated the Columbia shuttle crash.
NASA postponed the next launch to September 2004
from the news agencies
The third postponement since the Columbia crash. agency personnel
They say they need more time to apply the lessons of the crash
The heads of the American space agency (NASA) announced yesterday (Friday) that they have postponed the launch of the next shuttle into space, at least until September 2004. This, according to them, is because the agency needs more time to make the necessary changes and corrections following the publication of the conclusions of the committee that investigated the shuttle crash. Columbia, where the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon was also in, in February this year. The seven astronauts on the shuttle were killed in the crash, including Ramon. NASA had three space shuttles left after the Columbia crash, but all three are currently grounded.
William Reedy, the director of space flights at the agency, said that the next "window of opportunity" to launch a shuttle into space will be between September 12 and October 10, 2004. According to him, according to the plan, another shuttle will be launched by November 15. 2004 He added that the lessons of the Columbia crash are produced, and in the next launch "we will be stronger and safer".
The next space shuttle launch was initially planned to take place this month, but was postponed to March-April 2004 and then postponed again to July 2004. Now it has been postponed for the third time. The shuttles that will be launched will hardly be engaged in scientific research, but will focus on tasks of practice and application of the lessons learned from the crash investigation. Among other things, the shuttles will practice making repairs in space, including repairing the shuttle's insulation tiles, damage to which caused the Columbia crash.
Columbia disaster - latest updates
The book "The Crash" by Avi Blizovsky and Yefa Shir-Raz deals with the Columbia crash
Introduction to the report of the commission of inquiry into the Columbia disaster (in Hebrew)
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~648679883~~~188&SiteName=hayadan
