Posted: Fri, Jul 9, 2004, 8:44 AM ET (1244 GMT)
A NASA plan to have a damaged space shuttle dock for an extended period at the International Space Station carries a high risk of the loss of crew for both the shuttle and station, the New York Times reported Friday. The Times obtained copies of internal NASA reports on how well the station would serve as a "safe haven" for a damaged shuttle until a rescue shuttle could be launched. The most optimistic estimate found that the station could support a shuttle crew for 86.7 days, while the most pessimistic — which assumes the complete failure of a key system like removal of carbon dioxide from the station's air — found that the station could keep the crews alive for only 23 days. An "engineering estimate" that took into account the reliability of station systems in the past concluded that the station could support a shuttle for 59.6 days, which may not be long enough to prepare a rescue shuttle for launch. NASA is relying on the station to serve as a safe haven for a damaged shuttle, canceling the final Hubble servicing mission because a damaged shuttle on such a mission could not fly to the ISS.

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•  New York Times article