Posted: Sat, Dec 6, 2003, 11:13 AM ET (1613 GMT)
Controllers have switched to a set of Russian thrusters to orient the International Space Station after data indicated another problem with US-built gyroscopes. Station officials said Friday that one of four gyros on the station experienced vibrations on November 8. While that gyro worked as expected during a maneuver last week, officials said they plan to switch to using Russian thrusters to control the station for the next month while engineers try to understand the source of the vibrations. One of the four gyros on the station has already failed. The gyros are too big to be carried to the station on Soyuz or Progress flights, so the first post-Columbia shuttle flight is planned to bring at least one spare gyro to the station.

Related Links:

•  Houston Chronicle article
•  AP article
•  Washington Post article