Shuttle launch to go ahead despite risk of 'catastrophe'
JACQUI GODDARD AT CAPE CANAVERAL
NASA managers have rejected last-ditch pleas from their top safety officer and chief engineer to scrap next month's shuttle launch, saying that they will press ahead despite potentially catastrophic risks.
The head of the US space agency, Dr Michael Griffin, overruled warnings that there was a "relatively high" chance the shuttle's external fuel tank could shed some of its solid foam coating when it launches on 1 July, carrying seven crew including Briton Piers Sellers, an Edinburgh University graduate.
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During a weekend meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dr Griffin gave the final nod for next month's mission, despite what he called an "intensive and spirited exchange" with senior colleagues who recommended a "no-go". "We have elected to take the risk," he said.
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Dr Griffin said that if the shuttle's thermal tiles are damaged by debris during launch, the vehicle would still make it safely into space. The danger, he said, would come during re-entry.
The astronauts could make minor repairs before coming down or take refuge in the International Space Station and await a rescue mission by a second shuttle, Atlantis.
JACQUI GODDARD AT CAPE CANAVERAL
NASA managers have rejected last-ditch pleas from their top safety officer and chief engineer to scrap next month's shuttle launch, saying that they will press ahead despite potentially catastrophic risks.
The head of the US space agency, Dr Michael Griffin, overruled warnings that there was a "relatively high" chance the shuttle's external fuel tank could shed some of its solid foam coating when it launches on 1 July, carrying seven crew including Briton Piers Sellers, an Edinburgh University graduate.
>
During a weekend meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dr Griffin gave the final nod for next month's mission, despite what he called an "intensive and spirited exchange" with senior colleagues who recommended a "no-go". "We have elected to take the risk," he said.
>
Dr Griffin said that if the shuttle's thermal tiles are damaged by debris during launch, the vehicle would still make it safely into space. The danger, he said, would come during re-entry.
The astronauts could make minor repairs before coming down or take refuge in the International Space Station and await a rescue mission by a second shuttle, Atlantis.
F***ing morons
Dr. Mordrid
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