May shuttle mission delayed by ISS problem
Posted: Fri, Mar 22, 2002, 10:32 AM ET (1532 GMT)
A shuttle mission scheduled for launch in early May has been delayed until the end of the month because of a problem with the station's robotic arm. One of seven joints in the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the station isn't working properly, and while software changes can temporarily correct the problem, station officials have decided that the joint should be replaced during the STS-111 shuttle flight. The training required to prepare astronauts to perform an additional spacewalk to carry out the repair will slip the launch of Endeavour from May 6 to May 31. The problem is not expected to delay the next shuttle flight, Atlantis; STS-110 is still tentatively scheduled for April 4. The delay means the current Expedition Four crew on the station, scheduled to return to Earth on Endeavour, will spend several extra weeks in space. With a tentative landing date of June 12, allowing American crewmembers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch to spend 189 days in space, breaking the America record for longest spaceflight set in 1996 by Shannon Lucid by one day.
A shuttle mission scheduled for launch in early May has been delayed until the end of the month because of a problem with the station's robotic arm. One of seven joints in the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the station isn't working properly, and while software changes can temporarily correct the problem, station officials have decided that the joint should be replaced during the STS-111 shuttle flight. The training required to prepare astronauts to perform an additional spacewalk to carry out the repair will slip the launch of Endeavour from May 6 to May 31. The problem is not expected to delay the next shuttle flight, Atlantis; STS-110 is still tentatively scheduled for April 4. The delay means the current Expedition Four crew on the station, scheduled to return to Earth on Endeavour, will spend several extra weeks in space. With a tentative landing date of June 12, allowing American crewmembers Carl Walz and Dan Bursch to spend 189 days in space, breaking the America record for longest spaceflight set in 1996 by Shannon Lucid by one day.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, January 30
Mission Success: Rocket Lab Launches Korean Earth-Imaging Satellite, Completes 2nd Launch in 8 Days
Rocket Lab — 5:11 am ET (1011 GMT) York Space Stock Rises After IPO
Wall Street Journal — 5:11 am ET (1011 GMT) York Space Systems Debuts As $4.4B Publicly Traded Company
Aviation Week — 5:10 am ET (1010 GMT) Europe needs ‘quantum leap’ in space innovation, says ESA chief
Science Business — 5:10 am ET (1010 GMT) Dentistry at a distance: a 650 km checkup via satellite
ESA — 5:09 am ET (1009 GMT) |
