The Safest Shuttle Tank Ever, editorial, NY Times“Leaving the station half-finished would diminish its scientific value and anger some partner nations. But if the next phase of shuttle repairs looked daunting, a half-finished station might look pretty good.”NASA Grounded, editorial, Washington Post“Before sinking billions of dollars into manned space missions to the moon or Mars, politicians should reflect hard on the price, in dollars and in lives, of what may […]

Shuttle will face more scrutiny today, Orlando Sentinel“A review of more than 90 percent of Discovery’s photo, radar and laser images from the first three days in space has so far failed to turn up any significant problems.”NASA: Foam may have hit wing, CNN“Late Thursday, NASA officials said deeper analysis of camera footage shot during launch showed a small piece of foam may have struck the wing of Discovery’s orbiter […]

3 – 2 – 1….Liftoff….we have liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery!, The Citizen“With Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot Jim Kelly at the controls, the 14th shuttle mission lifted off at 9:39 a.m., riding the massive Saturn rocket into the heavens as the crowd gathered at Cape Canaveral cheered and the ground shook.” Editor’s note: This is from The Citizen, the local paper for the community surrounding JSC.

Shuttle flaws test NASA’s toolbox prowess, Christian Science Monitor“I could see senators asking, ‘If you can’t do this, how are you going to go to the moon and Mars?’ ” asks Keith Cowing of Nasawatch.com.”

NASA’s Exploration Mission: And the Children Shall Reach Out – and Lead, SpaceRef“Every now and again even the most cynical of us stumble across something so simple – and yet profound – as to take one’s breath away – and remind us of why we are so captivated with space exploration’s broader ramifications..” Editor’s note: Many people in and around the NASA family have gone through quite an emotional rollercoster […]

Crew Exploration Vehicle, Phase 1 – One of Two Contracts Leading to Competitive Down-selection– Lockheed Martin Corporation – Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

White House Press Briefing 28 July 2005 (NASA Excerpt)“In terms of the latest announcement, NASA has not made any decision or announced anything about the timing of the next mission. The experts at NASA continue to look at all the facts and all the data. And once they have had the opportunity to do so, then they will come to some conclusions and make decisions about how to proceed.”

Discovery Arrives at Space Station“Space Shuttle Discovery reached its orbital destination this morning. Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 7:18 a.m. EDT to begin an eight-day stay at the Station. During the approach to the ISS, the Shuttle crew performed a maneuver to allow the Station crewmembers to take more imagery of the Station’s heat shield.” Editor’s note: “the Station’s heat shield”? I did not know it had […]

Despite Efforts, Debris Is Still an Issue, WAshington Post“NASA may also have bet wrongly in the final months before the launch that external tank ice — rather than foam insulation — posed the largest risk to the shuttle. It delayed the launch twice primarily to confront the ice problem, but in the end, it was the foam that vexed the agency again.”Statement by NASA Administrator on Foam-Shedding From Space Shuttle […]

NASA Will Not Fly Shuttle Again Until Debris Problem Understood, SpaceRef“Clearly, with the event we had, we were wrong. We did not contact the orbiter at all. But it does give us pause to go back and look at what it is. Until it is closed we will not fly again. Might as well let that out now. Until we are ready we will not fly again.”– NASA External Tank […]