NASA: ISS could be uncrewed in November
Posted: Tue, Aug 30, 2011, 8:18 AM ET (1218 GMT)
Crews could be forced to abandon the International Space Station, at least temporarily, by mid-November if the Soyuz launch vehicle does not return to service by then, NASA's space station manager said Monday. Three of the current six people on the ISS were scheduled to return home on September 8, but that return will likely be delayed to mid-September, Mike Suffredini said. The launch of a replacement crew, which had been planned for September 22, will be delayed until Russian investigators complete their analysis into the cause of last week's failure of a Soyuz rocket carrying a Progress spacecraft. If the rocket isn't ready for crewed launches by mid-November, including at least two successful unmanned launches, the other three crew on the ISS will return home as previously scheduled, leaving the station unoccupied for the first time in over a decade. Suffredini said Russian officials were cautiously optimistic the Soyuz would return to flight before mid-November, but that they were prepared to control the station remotely for a time if not.
Crews could be forced to abandon the International Space Station, at least temporarily, by mid-November if the Soyuz launch vehicle does not return to service by then, NASA's space station manager said Monday. Three of the current six people on the ISS were scheduled to return home on September 8, but that return will likely be delayed to mid-September, Mike Suffredini said. The launch of a replacement crew, which had been planned for September 22, will be delayed until Russian investigators complete their analysis into the cause of last week's failure of a Soyuz rocket carrying a Progress spacecraft. If the rocket isn't ready for crewed launches by mid-November, including at least two successful unmanned launches, the other three crew on the ISS will return home as previously scheduled, leaving the station unoccupied for the first time in over a decade. Suffredini said Russian officials were cautiously optimistic the Soyuz would return to flight before mid-November, but that they were prepared to control the station remotely for a time if not.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, April 23
Texas moon landers could be at risk if NASA pivots to Mars
Houston Chronicle — 6:29 am ET (1029 GMT) Space Info-Sharing Center Signs MOU With French Space Command
Aviation Week — 6:28 am ET (1028 GMT) SpaceX Increases Starlink Congestion Charge in Several US Cities
PC Magazine — 6:26 am ET (1026 GMT) At Elon Musk’s Behest, Voters Cast Ballots for a New Town: Starbase, Texas
New York Times — 6:25 am ET (1025 GMT) SpaceX VP meets Prof Yunus, confirms May as technical launch date [for Starlink]
United News of Bangladesh — 6:21 am ET (1021 GMT) |
