Dr. Yoav Yair, a researcher in the Department of Natural and Life Sciences at the Open University and in the past coordinator of the Madex project, appreciates the changes made by NASA and wishes that the operation will go smoothly
Next Wednesday, July 13, the space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to take off for the first manned flight of an American space shuttle since the Columbia disaster, on February 1, 2003. Dr. Yoav Yair, a researcher in the Department of Natural and Life Sciences at the Open University and formerly the coordinator of the Madex project - the Israeli experiment that was carried out by the astronauts on the Columbia space shuttle, happy to be back in space. However, the first launch since the Columbia disaster, in which the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, whose flight was decided on this experiment, was also killed, evokes all the difficult memories in him.
In addition to Yair, the team included dozens of researchers, the most prominent of whom are Yehoichin Yosef, Ze'ev Levin, and Colin Price from Tel Aviv University, as well as a representative of the Air Force (Major M.
"The current launch evokes not only me but all the team members painful memories and makes them shiver." Yair the narrator says that he follows the news from NASA about the preparations for the launch of the shuttle Discovery and that he is in regular contact with the people he met at NASA thanks to his work on the project.
Is NASA ready to return to space?
"I thought it would take them longer. They didn't finish doing everything the committee asked of them, but they did the majority, they passed the FRR (Flight Readiness Review) last week and announced the launch on July 13. This is, by the way, in the process which is done about two weeks before every launch. The FRR process was also carried out, and we went through it when the engineers determined that it was safe to fly. God forbid, they worked as they should and it was probably the right decision to launch on January 16, 2003 They could have expected the severity of the damage to be so great. Until then, there had been at least 60 such incidents and nothing happened. In our case, it ended in a disaster, as the investigation committee defined it as an OUT OF THE FAMILY EVENT - an event that falls outside of their classifications."
What are the requirements imposed by the investigative committee on NASA?
"The committee demanded that they completely prevent the possibility of shrapnel falling from the fuel tank onto the shuttle, and they replaced the tank as well as its insulating coating. Furthermore, the investigative committee demanded that the launches be carried out during the day, to ensure adequate lighting. The entire photography system of the launches was upgraded and improved NASA has also installed cameras on the shuttle's robotic arm that will allow the inaccessible areas of the wings to be inspected for possible damage. In addition, a photo will be taken from the space of the shuttle. NASA will probably use spy satellites or observation satellites to scan the shuttle up as well. They are waiting for a smooth launch. I really hope it happens, that they have a smooth and successful and perfect flight."
Is there any point in continuing to fly on the current outdated ferries?
"President Bush defined a fairly clear goal: NASA should stop flying the shuttles in 2010. The agency intends to replace the shuttles with orbital vehicles, a kind of new space plane that can also be used to fly to the moon. After flight 114 - probably at the end of July - the conclusions of the steering committee that discussed the configuration of the future space vehicle called CIV and the new launchers will be published. It turns out that they go for two formations, one manned and one not. The manned configuration will be based on a large launcher and the space vehicle will be in the upper part and not attached to its back as in the current configuration (similar to the Apollo spacecraft from the XNUMXs).
Meanwhile the Russians are the space truck drivers with their Soyuz. An old and reliable tool. First of all let them finish building and then we will see how they will make the flights to the station. They still have a lot of work to complete the construction. They need 26 flights. If they have to finish by 2010, a simple calculation shows that they won't be enough. They will probably reject the grounding of the shuttles, or they will use disposable missiles.
Why not do it today?
, I don't know if they even thought in this direction. I think they don't have a strong enough launcher. This question must have several aspects, both economic and safety. I think also because the parts that need to be built are so large - research cars and laboratories cannot be put on a regular rocket. They don't have the carrying capacity of the Saturn 5."
What has been renewed in the analysis of the results of the experiments, at least those that survived?
"We have new discoveries in both dust research and sprite research. We are going to present them at a conference in Beijing at the beginning of August. We have so far published seven articles based on the results of the research. Now we are starting to analyze everything from the beginning once again. For example, I am checking again a storm over Brazil That was taken on the fifth day of the flight. We want to be sure that we didn't miss something. For example, I was at a conference in Japan about a month ago and our colleagues from Taiwan showed us pictures that they took from their satellite, and in one of the pictures that were taken from Colombia, we saw something similar, but we didn't know to classify it, so we didn't publish it. It wasn't until I saw another team that photographed the phenomenon using another satellite carrying a more sophisticated camera that I realized we saw it three years before them and we didn't publish it together. Now we're working with them to analyze and compare the results.
How do your friends at NASA react?
"The launch opens up an old wound for many people. I lecture in many places and talk to people and realize that the memory is still fresh. Two and a half years have passed, as if they had not passed. The team that worked with us is being disbanded. Some of them are no longer involved in manned flights. I corresponded and talked with them and even traveled about a year ago Especially to meet them. For them it was a blow because they had to make career changes. I think everyone misses it because being in charge of manned flight where they paint scientific studies from space is the top of the job at NASA. I imagine that they, like us, expect and wait for success but also bear great pain."
