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'Atlantis' returns hope for station

The space station may actually get done by 2010, NASA says after its first construction work since '02.

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published September 22, 2006

CAPE CANAVERAL - Three successful space shuttle missions since the 2003 Columbia disaster have convinced the NASA it can complete the international space station by 2010.

Two hours after Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday after a 12-day mission to work on the station, NASA administrator Michael Griffin praised NASA's team for moving closer to the goal of four shuttle missions a year, a schedule it hopes to maintain through 2010.

"We're more into the normal operational tempo now," Griffin said.

NASA plans to fly about 15 more missions to finish the space station, which is being constructed by a 16-nation consortium of whom the United States and Russia are the most active members. The project depends heavily on the space shuttle because it is the only vehicle big enough to carry the station's largest components into space.

The logistical problem is that "every flight depends on the flight before it having gone well," Griffin said.

"Whatever else the space station is, it's one of the most amazing construction projects that human beings have ever undertaken," Griffin said. "It's maybe a little simpler than trying to build an aircraft while you fly it but not much."

The last two shuttle flights were designed chiefly to resupply the space station and prove that new in-flight inspection methods would make it safe to fly shuttles. Atlantis' was the first construction mission for the station since 2002.

Atlantis dropped out of blackness at 6:21 a.m., announced by twin sonic booms, and landed gently on a dark runway with a long whoosh of air.

"It was a pleasure to fly her and we're glad to be home," said mission commander Brent Jett.

NASA delayed the landing a day after discovering mysterious space debris alongside Atlantis, raising fears that there might have been damage to the crucial thermal tiles that protect the spacecraft from the fiery 3,000-degree heat of re-entry.

But astronauts on Wednesday checked Atlantis' exterior with new techniques unavailable in 2003, when undetected damage to the left wing led the shuttle Columbia to burn and disintegrate during re-entry. They discovered no damage and NASA declared Atlantis fit to land.

"We were not very concerned," Jett said several hours after landing. "We just assumed whatever objects came out had come from the payload bay. What we were trying to do is make the folks on the ground comfortable."

Unlike the past two missions, which were designed to prove NASA could safely fly shuttles again after the Columbia tragedy, this one allowed astronauts to get back to building the space station.

Astronauts attached a 43-foot long truss to the station that weighed 17.4 tons when it was on Earth, and which acts as a kind of foundation for expanding the station. The crew also unfolded a set of 115-foot solar wings that will generate power for the station.

The next shuttle launch could come as early as December, but may be pushed back until early 2007. Although NASA has insisted on launching during the day so it can carefully examine the spacecraft for damage during launch, officials said it is likely that they will allow nighttime liftoffs in the future. A camera held by the shuttle's robotic arm has given crews the ability to inspect under the spacecraft to see if any damage has occurred.

Griffin also said he is still weighing whether to launch a space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, which is in need of repairs. He said it's possible such a mission could be set for early 2008.

[Last modified September 22, 2006, 01:41:37]