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Space Shuttle Woes: Problems with Atlantis

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The space shuttle Atlantis is not a timely or courteous beast this month. Rather than launching into space last Friday, January 19th, it was ordered back to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) a mile or so from its launch pad earlier last week. However, its’ expensive recall was not without good reason.

The root of the problem lies in a series of electrical cables that aren’t even found on the shuttle Atlantis. After an inspection of the entire shuttle fleet for flaws in these cables, four were found to have defects. Specifically, these components were found to have an “intermittent” electrical transmission when they were tested. This, of course, was completely unsatisfactory. If these cables were defective than it could be possible that identical hardware connected to Atlantis may also be problematic.

The cables are located in the shuttle’s Booster Separation System (SBS). The SBS includes the pyrotechnic charges that separate the twin solid rocket boosters from the large external tank about two minutes after lift-off. If any parts of the SBS failed during flight it could cascade into a failure of the pyrotechnics. If the pyros do not ignite and fulfill their primary purpose of separating the burning boosters from the shuttle, it could prove catastrophic for the crew.

With the fifteenth anniversary of the Challenger disaster only a few days away (Jan. 28), NASA is taking no chances with Atlantis. Officials have obviously decided to take a “better safe than sorry” approach in this matter. Clearly, sending the shuttle back into the VAB shows the seriousness of the matter. Doing so delays the launch for several weeks and threatens timely schedules.

Bill Shepherd and his crew aboard the International Space Station (the crew calls the station Alpha) will probably be affected by the delay. Discovery, the next shuttle set for launch, is scheduled to return the Expedition One Crew to Earth in March. With this delay, their return may be postponed for a few days. Atlantis’ cargo is “Destiny;” the next installment of the ISS. At a cost of 1.2 billion dollars it will be the technological centerpiece of the station once it is attached. It appears that the construction of the ISS will be delayed but not stopped. In fact, when one looks at the problems the Russian Space Agency had with the ISS module “Zvesda” two years ago, this latest delay seems trite. Although, it is easy to admit that watching the station grow piece by piece is very exciting. With every new component the ISS grows larger in size, and more substantial in the night sky. To see its’ completion delayed in any sense is disappointing.