spacetoday.net: ISS crew says ready for long stay on station

Posted: Thu, Feb 13, 2003, 8:09 AM ET (1309 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

The three-man crew of the International Space Station told reporters this week that they are willing to stay on the station for up to a year as NASA and other ISS partners work on contingency plans. Station commander Ken Bowersox said that he was in "sheer shock" when Johnson Space Center director Jefferson Howell informed him of the disaster shortly after it occurred. The crew said they listed to the memorial service at JSC over the radio, then rang the station's bell seven times and observed an extended period of silence before returning to their tasks. Bowersox and crewmates Don Pettit and Nikolai Budarin said they are willing to remain on the station for up to a year. "We actually volunteered to stay longer," said Bowersox. The earliest the Expedition Six could return home, barring a station emergency that required evacuation, would be in May when a new Soyuz spacecraft visits the station. NASA and Rosaviakosmos are considering using two-person crews for future expeditions to conserve station resources until the shuttle returns to service.