NASA decided to postpone the launch of the shuttle Columbia carrying the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, to January 2003; The reason: cracks discovered in the shuttle's fuel transport pipes; The countdown resets
another delay in the launch of the shuttle "Columbia" with the first Israeli astronaut; Col. Ilan Ramon will have to wait at least until January 2003 - because of cracks that were discovered in the shuttle's fuel transport pipes
The flight of the American space shuttle Columbia, carrying the first Israeli astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, was postponed until January 2003 due to cracks in the equipment. Columbia's first launch date was set for July, but the launch was postponed after small cracks were discovered in the fuel transport pipes. The set date was the end of November, but today another postponement was made to mid-January.
Yesterday, NASA announced that the launch to the nearest space, of the shuttle Atlantis, will not take place before October 2 due to damage that needs to be repaired in the shuttle. Atlantis' mission - to install new equipment on the International Space Station - was supposed to take place in August and has since been postponed to the end of September. The shuttle Endeavor is scheduled to fly to the space station in November.
NASA assessment: Col. Ilan Ramon's flight into space will be delayed at least until the end of the year
by Tamara Traubman
Officials at the American Space Agency (NASA) announced on
Friday because there is a high probability that the flight including the astronaut
The first Israeli, Col. Ilan Ramon, will be rejected at least until the end
This year.
Ramon and the crew of the shuttle "Columbia" were supposed to go on a mission yesterday
Research in space, which includes an experiment by Tel Aviv University, which will investigate the
Impact of dust storms on the climate in the Middle East. However, in months
Recently, tiny cracks were discovered in the fuel tubes of the four shuttles
of NASA, and the agency decided to ground the entire fleet for inspection
and assessment.
NASA's shuttle program manager, Ron Ditmore, said at the briefing
to the journalists that "NASA is increasingly disturbed by the combination of the schedule of
The three deployments that were planned to go out before the end of the year." According to him, a date
The earliest launch is September 26, but "it's unlikely
(that the Columbia mission) will come out first." However, he noted that not yet
A decision was made on the matter.
The head of the Israeli Space Agency, Avi Har-Evan, says that he was informed by NASA
that on July 31 a final decision will be made on the new schedule for the Columbia launch
and the other tasks. In the letter sent by Har-Evan to the project management and in the meeting
Between the Minister of Science Matan Vilnai and the management, the meanings of a postponement were described
the task. According to Har-Evan, postponing the mission to a later date than October will hurt
in an experiment. "Such a postponement would be very bad for us", he says, "after
October will be winter weather, there are clouds and rains, which will bring down the
The effectiveness of the experiment".
However, says Har-Evan, "it is not clear what the decision will be." At two o'clock
The other missions planned for the year are the International Space Station,
And in determining the new date for their launch, NASA must also take into account the schedules
of the rest of the partnership at the station.
NASA engineers still don't know what caused the cracks. According to Ditmore,
This week the agency will decide what to do about the cracks. Among the options:
welding the cracks (the length of which does not exceed 7.5 millimeters); and drilling
small holes in their ends to keep them from expanding; There is also a possibility
It is not very likely that it will be decided that the ferries are safe to fly as they are, and there are not
The cracks need to be repaired.
The Israeli astronaut will investigate the effects of dust on the climate of the Mazat
NASA / Despite the Israeli astronaut - security procedures were not tightened
By Natan Gutman, "Haaretz" reporter
In the US
Photo: NASA
Ramon (right) and the crew of the STS-107 space mission
The launch was delayed
Only in a week will they be able to estimate at NASA when it will be possible to launch the
The space shuttle "Columbia" for mission STS-107. This, after they are finished
The initial tests to detect cracks in the pipes inside the shuttle. if not
Cracks will be discovered, the launch of the shuttle, which will carry a person into space for the first time
Israeli team, may happen as early as August - a few weeks later
the original date.
Last Monday, after tiny cracks were discovered in two other ferries,
NASA administrators announced a comprehensive inspection of all shuttles and a freeze
The launches. The countdown to Columbia's scheduled launch
to occur on July 19, was terminated and preparations for the launch were frozen.
Time and time again, luck turns to NASA's STS-107 mission, which inspires
Great interest - also in the world media - due to the presence of the astronaut
The first Israeli in the task force. The original launch date was in June
Since 2000, the team has known many postponements, the main one of which was due to necessity
Change the shuttle mission order and use Columbia for an urgent mission
of repairing the "Hubble" space telescope.
"We had quite a few rejections during our training, but we learned and improved
From each of them," said Rick Husband, space team commander, on Friday.
According to him, "this time will not be different either". The staff, which was already ready
Before the launch, he went on a short break and then he will return to training. if indeed
Safety problems will be discovered when dismantling the shuttle engines and inspecting the pipes,
The mission may be delayed even more and the order of NASA's planned launches
For a few years to come, it may also change. The launch schedule is affected
Not only from the machinery of the shuttles and the crews, but also from supplies related to the establishment
the International Space Station and to coordinate with the Russian space project.
However, in NASA and the mission team optimism prevails and the assumption is that
The current delay will also be the last. Last Friday an agency presented
American space, at its space centers in Houston and Cape Canaveral, the
The task force and its goals to the media.
Ilan Ramon, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, has been training at the center for four years
Johnson Space, in Houston, before launch. the promise to attach an Israeli
The shuttle crew was given by the former president, Bill Clinton, who did not get to see the
The launch during his tenure.
The presence of an Israeli representative in the space team aroused the most interest
When presenting the space team to the media. Most of the questions were addressed
to Ramon, and many of them touched on the question of the fear of turning the ferry launch into a destination
A terrorist attack. "I think my participation in this wonderful team is like that of
Every other staff member," Ramon said in response to one of the questions. "there are not any
Talks about a special risk, beyond what we know following 11
in September". The commander of the delegation, Rick Husband, added that "there is no risk
Special. We are very confident about the safety and security tests."
NASA has not changed security arrangements at the training center in Houston, OR
at the launch site in Florida, because of the presence of an Israeli crew member. since
The terrorist attacks against the USA in September, the security procedures were changed anyway:
The information about the dates of the launches was given only at the last moment, the airspace
Above the launch site is closed to aircraft traffic, and there is a permanent presence of
Battleships, fighter planes and helicopters in the Cape Kennedy area.
When he goes on his mission, Ilan Ramon will carry, among other things, a drawing of the boy
The Jew, Peter Ginz, who was murdered in Auschwitz during the Holocaust, in which he describes
The view of the earth from space. The other day, Ramon pointed out that he sees
In the fact of being the first Israeli to go into space, a significant event - no
Not only for Israel but also for the Jewish people.
"The fact that I am the son of a Holocaust survivor is symbolic," he said, "there is something in that."
Proof that after the suffering my parents went through, we are still moving forward."
As for the feeling of the national mission, Ramon said: "I am Israeli and I feel it
here at home We serve science for humanity, and humanity has none
Limits".
After recent space missions focused on specific technical tasks,
The task assigned to Ramon's team is completely scientific. for 16 days
In space, the seven crew members (five men and two women) will perform a series of
Scientific experiments in the field of life sciences, physics and earth sciences. one
The experiments, which arouse great interest, concern the study of combustion, with a purpose
Help develop more efficient methods of energy production. Another experiment, which the team
He will devote a lot of time to it, he is the one who organizes the Israeli Space Agency and Shamore
To investigate the effects of desert dust on the climate in the Middle East and around the world
All of it.
A special camera, developed in Israel, will be used for the experiment, called MEIDEX
and operates at six different wavelengths. The camera is designed for examining storms
Tiny dust grains, moving from the Sahara to the Mediterranean Sea and even crossing the
Atlantic. Because of the central effect of these dust storms on
Weather changes and amount of precipitation, the experiment can help to understand
Climate change processes in the world, especially in the Mediterranean region.
The Space Shuttle crew will also operate a series of experiments, prepared by
School students from Australia, China, Japan, the USA and Israel (B.S
"Ort" in Kiryat Motzkin). Beyond the scientific value of these experiments,
NASA emphasizes the importance of increasing the interest of youth in the field
The space.
Ramon hopes to see Jerusalem from space
The STS-107 space mission crew consists of seven astronauts. for
For three of them, this will be the second time they will fly into space. teammates
They will be divided into two groups - the "blue" and the "red" - who will work around the clock
in shifts and will perform the shuttle flight and scientific experiments. four of them
The team members are airplane pilots by training and two of them are doctors.
When asked last Friday what would be the thing they would like to see
From the shuttle window when they went out into space, the answers were varied: Kolpana
Chawla asked to look out the window for 90 consecutive minutes and see the coffee
Solomon of the Earth; William McCall wanted to focus on one point to
feel the enormous speed at which the shuttle moves; Laurel Clark is interested
to watch the state of Wisconsin, where she comes from; And Ilan Ramon said,
Let him try to look at Jerusalem from space.
