NASA TRIMS COSTS SHUTTLE UPGRADE DEFERRAL ASKED.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Looking to trim costs, NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. is considering postponement of any space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. modifications at Palmdale until after 2005 - and at the possibility of benching Columbia, the nation's oldest orbiter. Facing budget problems, including a $4.7 billion overrun 1. overrun - A frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can be consumed, especially in serial line communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a silo can hold only two characters and the machine takes on the development of the International Space Station, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), is looking to postpone any shuttle modifications until the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, 2005. Orbiter Discovery is scheduled to arrive in Palmdale in December, but that work is now in doubt. ``We have asked our Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel whether we can defer the modifications,'' NASA spokeswoman Kirsten Larson said Monday. ``We expect a decision by mid- to late September.'' The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel is an independent panel of technical experts that reports to NASA and Congress. The panel was formed in 1967 after the Apollo I command capsule capsule In botany, a dry fruit that opens when ripe. It splits from top to bottom into separate segments known as valves, as in the iris, or forms pores at the top (e.g., poppy), or splits around the circumference, with the top falling off (e.g., pigweed and plantain). fire that killed three astronauts. NASA is in the middle of updating shuttle cockpits, replacing 32 of the 1970s-vintage gauges with 11 new touch-screen displays. The modification cuts about 75 pounds of weight, and the new display uses less power. NASA now wants to couple those upgrades with its planned smart-cockpit upgrades, which involve installing electronic equipment that will do much of the deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Using known facts to draw a conclusion about a specific situation. for pilots during critical periods of a mission. The major modifications also include detailed inspections of the orbiter, looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. any signs of wear and tear and corrosion. Boeing, which built the shuttle fleet and performs the major modifications conducted at Palmdale, plans to make announcements today regarding its shuttle work force. Questions about the potential shuttle work postponement were deferred until that news conference. Typically, Boeing brings in about 300 workers to conduct the modifications and inspections on orbiters. The work typically lasts nine to 10 months. NASA is also looking very strongly at the possibility of benching, at least temporarily, Columbia, the nation's oldest space shuttle. Columbia only has two more missions on NASA's flight manifest Flight manifest is a list of passengers and crew of an aircraft compiled before departure based on flight check-in information. , a January mission to service the Hubble space telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. and a science mission in May. ``It's something under discussion, but nothing is final,'' Larson said. NASA is talking with other federal agencies to find missions for the orbiter. If no work can be found for Columbia, the shuttle would be parked and kept in a flyable condition so that it could be used if missions were identified later. Columbia, which flew the first space shuttle mission in 1981, is too heavy to fly to the international space station like its sister shuttles. A planned 2003 mission to carry a prototype of a space station lifeboat into orbit for a flight test has been canceled because of budget problems. |
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