 |
| The shuttle has been grounded for
two-and-a-half years | |
Nasa has set 13 July as the launch date for
Discovery, the first shuttle
to go into space since the Columbia disaster in February 2003.
The announcement follows a two-day review of the Discovery's readiness
for lift-off.
An original launch date in May was put back because of ongoing redesign
work on the shuttle's fuel
tank.
Columbia disintegrated after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere,
killing all seven astronauts on board.
Earlier this week, a panel monitoring Nasa said the agency had failed
to meet three of 15 recommendations made by the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board for the safe resumption of shuttle flights.
But Nasa Administrator Michael Griffin said Discovery was fit for
launch.
"Based on a very thorough and very successful flight readiness review,
we're currently 'go' for launch of Discovery on 13 July," he announced.
An earlier investigation found Columbia broke up as a result of damage
sustained when a chunk of fuel-tank insulating
foam smashed into its left wing during lift-off two weeks
earlier.
The Caib probe concluded astronauts would still be unable to fix such
damage once in orbit.
While Nasa's focus was on how to prevent the insulating foam breaking
off, concerns also emerged earlier this year about the build-up of ice on
the outside of the fuel tank.
The agency's management however decided the risk of ice striking the
shuttle's heat shield was low enough to resume flights.
Discovery will carry a seven-strong crew
on a mission to take supplies and parts to the International Space
Station.
(Agencies) |
美國(guó)宇航局（NASA）日前宣布將于7月13日發(fā)射“發(fā)現(xiàn)”號(hào)航天飛機(jī)。這將是美國(guó)航天飛機(jī)自2003年2月“哥倫比亞”號(hào)失事以來(lái)首次恢復(fù)發(fā)射。
之前，美國(guó)宇航局已對(duì)“發(fā)現(xiàn)”號(hào)的發(fā)射準(zhǔn)備工作進(jìn)行了為期兩天的檢查。
“發(fā)現(xiàn)”號(hào)原定于今年五月發(fā)射升空，但是由于當(dāng)時(shí)正對(duì)飛船的油箱重新進(jìn)行設(shè)計(jì)，而不得不推遲了發(fā)射日期。
“哥倫比亞”號(hào)航天飛機(jī)在返回地面途中，經(jīng)過(guò)地球大氣層時(shí)解體，導(dǎo)致機(jī)上七名宇航員全部遇難。
本周早些時(shí)候，一個(gè)美國(guó)宇航局監(jiān)督小組聲稱，宇航局未能滿足哥倫比亞事故調(diào)查委員會(huì)為恢復(fù)航天飛機(jī)安全飛行而提出的15條意見(jiàn)中的3條。
但是，美國(guó)宇航局局長(zhǎng)邁克爾·格里芬卻宣布，“發(fā)現(xiàn)”號(hào)已經(jīng)做好了發(fā)射升空的準(zhǔn)備。
他說(shuō)：“我們對(duì)發(fā)射準(zhǔn)備工作進(jìn)行了非常全面且成功的評(píng)估，現(xiàn)決定在7月13日發(fā)射‘發(fā)現(xiàn)’號(hào)航天飛機(jī)。”
早先進(jìn)行的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，在“哥倫比亞”號(hào)航天飛機(jī)發(fā)射升空時(shí)，從外部燃料箱脫落的一塊泡沫絕緣材料擊中了航天飛機(jī)左翼，使其受損，從而導(dǎo)致了兩周后“哥倫比亞”號(hào)在空中解體爆炸的悲劇。
哥倫比亞事故調(diào)查委員會(huì)經(jīng)過(guò)周密調(diào)查后得出結(jié)論：萬(wàn)一航天飛機(jī)在軌道運(yùn)行中發(fā)生類似的損壞，宇航員仍舊無(wú)法展開(kāi)修復(fù)工作。
正當(dāng)美國(guó)宇航局將工作重點(diǎn)放在如何防止泡沫絕緣材料脫落時(shí)，今年年初人們又開(kāi)始擔(dān)心燃料箱外側(cè)集結(jié)的冰是否也會(huì)對(duì)航天飛機(jī)的飛行安全構(gòu)成威脅。
然而，美國(guó)宇航局的管理層斷然認(rèn)為，這些冰塊擊中航天飛機(jī)防熱護(hù)罩的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)極低，不會(huì)影響航天飛機(jī)的飛行。
“發(fā)現(xiàn)”號(hào)將把一個(gè)“身強(qiáng)力壯的”七人小組送入太空，給國(guó)際空間站帶去補(bǔ)給和一些部件。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-07-04 10:04