Friday, March 03, 2006

Extra shuttle missions not likely to fly

NASA unveiled a revised International Space Station assembly sequence this week that left open the option of flying two extra missions to haul spares up to the outpost before the agency retires its shuttle fleet in 2010.

But it's unlikely those missions will be flown, a senior NASA manager said today.

"I have a pretty high degree of confidence that we may not need these flights -- that we won't need these flights," said Mike Suffredini, manager of NASA's International Space Station program office. "But if these flights become necessary, they could be performed."

The new sequence calls for NASA to launch 16 shuttle missions to complete construction of the half-built station. Also on the manifest are two "contingency flights" to haul spare parts up to the outpost before the shuttle fleet is retired.

Suffredini told reporters in a teleconference that the performance of station systems to date indicates that NASA won't have to launch as many spares to the station as previously projected.

Other carriers also will be available to haul up parts if need be, he added.

The other carriers include unmanned European and Japanese space freighters that will make debut flights over the next few years.

NASA also is aiming to turn over station crew and cargo transportation services to commercial companies after the shuttle fleet is retired.

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