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NASA astronauts at risk over Georgian conflict
Published: 05 September, 2008, 17:14
Edited: 27 November, 2009, 18:15
NASA is examining the possibility of keep its ageing fleet of space shuttles flying for up to five years past their 2010 retirement date. NASA official, Mike Griffin, has said that the South Ossetian crisis may cut off access to Russian Soyuz rockets, lea
The plan was for Russia to step in with its Soyuz spacecraft, but analysts say Congress may not approve the deal because of Russia's response to the Georgian conflict.
“It's a very tough spot for NASA because they really are not sure which way they will go. And no one really knows until the new president comes to office,” said George T. Whitesides, Executive Director of the National Space Society.
Presidential candidate John McCain, an outspoken critic of Russia, has not missed the opportunity to voice his opinion on the matter. He has asked the White House not to go ahead with dismantling the shuttle programme for at least a year.
NASA is now looking to extend the shuttle programme beyond 2010, which is a potentially risky move.
“Most people acknowledge the space shuttle is an old vehicle. It's been flying since 1981 and many of its parts are getting to the point where they need to be refurbished. So, with each flight, the risks are higher,” Whitesides added.
NASA administrator Michael Griffin has also acknowledged the risks. Back in April he made a statement in front of a Senate panel.
“If one were to do as some have suggested and fly the shuttle for an additional five years – say for two missions a year – the risk would be about one in 12 that we could lose another crew. That's a high risk. One I would not choose to accept on behalf of our astronauts,” he said.
Flying the shuttle beyond 2010 will not only be risky but costly. Griffin has estimated the cost at $US 4 billion a year. The agency's entire annual budget is about $US 17 billion.
This means NASA will have to ask Congress for more money in order to build the Orion, its next generation spacecraft.
But whatever U.S. Congress decides, NASA is in a lose-lose situation, as it will probably have to put politics before the safety of America's astronauts or the future of its space programme.
05.09.2008, 17:06
Press-conference of EU foreign ministers at Avignon meetingEU Foreign Ministers are calling for an international inquest into identifying who was responsible for starting the conflict in South Ossetia. |
05.09.2008, 20:25
Joint declaration on South Ossetia signed in MoscowThe leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have signed a joint declaration on recent developments in the Caucasus at a meeting in Moscow on Friday. The group also expressed its support of Russia's |
The shuttle is old. Time to move on to Orion. Most of the shuttle tasks have been funded through college experiments. This old and aniquated. If there is any doubtful risk of losing people in space. I can't beleive it's even in question. Retire the fleet and move forward.
The sad part is that our space program is at the whims of a congress that fluctuates with the wind. Depending on Russia is not a good thing, for many reasons the least of which is political. Yes it is an international space station, lets get some more international funds to support it so we don't have to depend on a fickle congress that prefers to load a lot of pork onto their own turf rather than support what should most certainly be a beacon of pride for our country a US led space program. There is a lot more trickle-down benefit for the nation than there is in congressional pork.
Years ago when the plans to buddy up to Russia for ISS work we knew their past history. We need to learn to keep our nose out of other countries bussiness and continue with the retirement of the shuttles and forward the work on Orion. If Politics were gonna be a risk factor when past decisions were made to use Russian transports then congress should of factored in some kind of gap filler if that county's behavior was gonna be an issue. Refurbishment money for a couple of shuttles, possibly help developing a European or Japanese transport vehicle and / or speed up the development of Orion. As a country we seem to always pick the "wrong side" to support then run aground later. Don't these people in Washington every think past "next week". I say Continue the work planned and just let the politicians whine.