As STS-126 Mission Aboard Endeavour Prepares for Launch - Is it Safe?
STS-126 has been planned for years with a mission to give the International Space Station the ability to support twice the crew currently living there. This 27th shuttle mission to the International Space Station (and 124th shuttle mission) is currently a "go" for a 7:55 PM EST
launch on Nov. 14, 2008.
Meanwhile, Cosmic Log writer, Alan Boyle, asks "How safe is the shuttle?"
President Elect Barack Obama, as well as his former opponent John McCain, has called on NASA to consider flying the space shuttle fleet past its scheduled 2010 retirement date. Boyle says, "Now the space agency is providing some sobering estimates of the costs and the risks that would be involved - leading one seasoned space observer to wonder whether the shuttle program should be throttled back rather than extended."
While both this ISS expansion mission and the currently delayed Hubble servicing mission are important, we do not want a repeat of the Challenger or Columbia disasters. The cost of such tragedies in money and time and so very much more importantly lives is monumental.
Unfortunately, if we end the space shuttle program as planned or even earlier as some have suggested, there will be a long gap before the shuttle's successor is available for use. For at least 5 years we will need to rely on the Russians for transportation to and from the International Space Station.
It is true that most problems can not be solved by throwing money at them, however these difficult questions can not be answered without adequate funding.
I call on our newly elected president to ensure that science, and especially NASA, be provided the funding necessary to continue to function and improve the lives of all citizens of the US and the world.
Image Credits: NASA
Comments
I’ve heard that the shuttle is inherently safe, though complex and expensive. It also has extraordinary capabilities: can lift large, heavy objects to orbit, has an airlock so astronauts can go out to assist in glitches w/deployment or do repairs. The shuttle can also bring things down. I don’t think any other system can carry cargo back to earth. The Challenger explosion was caused by a faulty o-ring that failed during launch in temperatures far below design specs. These seals have been redesigned and are supposedly safer. I don’t know about the problem with the bad decision to launch in freezing temperatures, but that weakness will be there for any vehicle - most rockets including the new Aries have solid rocket boosters with the same seals. The foam which caused the Columbia disaster is another story altogether. It’s seems absurd that foam strike tests weren’t done BEFORE flying the shuttle to see if falling foam could cause serious damage. But maybe there’s more to it. Since the Columbia tragedy, engineers have improved the foam system to reduce shedding. I believe they now inspect the shuttle from orbit after each launch. I would hope they also have a rescue contingency plan in place in the event the shuttle is critically damaged. These things would have saved the Columbia crew. The shuttles were built for 100 missions each and we are up to launch #126 total, so there is lots of life left in the remaining orbiters. At this point, they may be the safest they have ever been. Then again, maybe there is more we don’t know.
Johnny J