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Russian Computer Failure May Extend Shuttle Mission
Thursday, June 14, 2007
HOUSTON - Russian computers that control the international space station's
orientation and supply of oxygen and water have failed, potentially
extending the space shuttle's mission - or cutting it short.
Russian engineers aren't sure why the computers stopped working. A failure
of this type has never occurred before on the space station.
The station is operated primarily by the Russian and U.S. space agencies,
with contributions from the Canadian, European and Japanese space agencies.
"We have plenty of resources, so we have plenty of time to sort this out,"
said Mike Suffredini, NASA manager of the space station program.
But the computer failure could extend space shuttle Atlantis' mission by at
least a day and, in a worst-case scenario, force the space station's three
crew members to return to Earth early if the computers aren't fixed.
Atlantis' mission had already been extended from 11 to 13 days so that
astronauts can go on a spacewalk to repair a thermal blanket covering an
engine pod that peeled up during launch.
Suffredini said he expected the problem to be fixed in the next couple of
days. In a worst-case scenario, if at least one of the computers wasn't
operating after the shuttle left, the space station's three crew members
could return to Earth, he said.
Thrusters on the docked space shuttle, along with the space station's
gyroscopes, have been fired periodically to help maintain the space
station's positioning since the computers failed earlier this week.
The space station needs the maneuvering thrusters controlled by the Russian
computers for docking and avoiding space debris.
Without the Russian oxygen-machine running, the space station has a 56-day
supply of oxygen left. "If we are in that position, we have an option to
depart," Suffredini said.
Russian engineers think the computers' failure could have been triggered by
a power source. The space station earlier this week got a new pair of solar
arrays that were delivered by Atlantis and unfolded Tuesday to help provide
power.
During a spacewalk on Wednesday, astronauts Patrick Forrester and Steven
Swanson started to bring to life a rotating joint that will allow the new
pair of solar arrays to track the sun. Astronauts will finish prepping the
joint on another spacewalk.
Forrester and Swanson also helped retract a 115-foot wing of an old solar
array that will be folded up into a storage box and moved to another
location later this year.
Only 13 of the array's 31 sections were folded up, so flight controllers and
astronauts will try to fold up the rest of the solar wing by remote commands
on Thursday.
NASA managers decided Wednesday to use a spacewalk on Friday to repair a
torn thermal blanket located over an engine pod near the shuttle's tail.
The astronauts will secure the blanket using staples found in the shuttle's
medical kit and loop-headed pins that come from the shuttle's tile repair
kit. If those methods don't work, NASA flight controllers will have the
astronauts sew it into place using a stainless steel wire and an instrument
that resembles a small needle.
Engineers don't think the damaged section of the thermal blanket, which
protects part of the shuttle from the blazing heat of re-entry, would
endanger the spacecraft during landing. But it could cause enough damage to
require schedule-busting repairs.
NASA has focused intensely on any problems that could jeopardize a shuttle's
re-entry into Earth's atmosphere since shuttle damage resulted in the 2003
Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts.
Russian Computer Failure May Extend Shuttle Mission
Thursday, June 14, 2007
HOUSTON - Russian computers that control the international space station's
orientation and supply of oxygen and water have failed, potentially
extending the space shuttle's mission - or cutting it short.
Russian engineers aren't sure why the computers stopped working. A failure
of this type has never occurred before on the space station.
The station is operated primarily by the Russian and U.S. space agencies,
with contributions from the Canadian, European and Japanese space agencies.
"We have plenty of resources, so we have plenty of time to sort this out,"
said Mike Suffredini, NASA manager of the space station program.
But the computer failure could extend space shuttle Atlantis' mission by at
least a day and, in a worst-case scenario, force the space station's three
crew members to return to Earth early if the computers aren't fixed.
Atlantis' mission had already been extended from 11 to 13 days so that
astronauts can go on a spacewalk to repair a thermal blanket covering an
engine pod that peeled up during launch.
Suffredini said he expected the problem to be fixed in the next couple of
days. In a worst-case scenario, if at least one of the computers wasn't
operating after the shuttle left, the space station's three crew members
could return to Earth, he said.
Thrusters on the docked space shuttle, along with the space station's
gyroscopes, have been fired periodically to help maintain the space
station's positioning since the computers failed earlier this week.
The space station needs the maneuvering thrusters controlled by the Russian
computers for docking and avoiding space debris.
Without the Russian oxygen-machine running, the space station has a 56-day
supply of oxygen left. "If we are in that position, we have an option to
depart," Suffredini said.
Russian engineers think the computers' failure could have been triggered by
a power source. The space station earlier this week got a new pair of solar
arrays that were delivered by Atlantis and unfolded Tuesday to help provide
power.
During a spacewalk on Wednesday, astronauts Patrick Forrester and Steven
Swanson started to bring to life a rotating joint that will allow the new
pair of solar arrays to track the sun. Astronauts will finish prepping the
joint on another spacewalk.
Forrester and Swanson also helped retract a 115-foot wing of an old solar
array that will be folded up into a storage box and moved to another
location later this year.
Only 13 of the array's 31 sections were folded up, so flight controllers and
astronauts will try to fold up the rest of the solar wing by remote commands
on Thursday.
NASA managers decided Wednesday to use a spacewalk on Friday to repair a
torn thermal blanket located over an engine pod near the shuttle's tail.
The astronauts will secure the blanket using staples found in the shuttle's
medical kit and loop-headed pins that come from the shuttle's tile repair
kit. If those methods don't work, NASA flight controllers will have the
astronauts sew it into place using a stainless steel wire and an instrument
that resembles a small needle.
Engineers don't think the damaged section of the thermal blanket, which
protects part of the shuttle from the blazing heat of re-entry, would
endanger the spacecraft during landing. But it could cause enough damage to
require schedule-busting repairs.
NASA has focused intensely on any problems that could jeopardize a shuttle's
re-entry into Earth's atmosphere since shuttle damage resulted in the 2003
Columbia disaster that killed seven astronauts.
