Still working on an
word going around that Hubble servicing mission scheduled for May is in danger of being reconsidered because of higher mission risk
haven't seen the memo, but it went around:
due to the Iridium vs Kosmos collision there is concern that higher debris levels in LEO make SM4 too risky, and it is to be re-evaluated and possibly postponed, again, or canceled.
that kinda sux
if someone has the memo, do pass it along, there's a good chap
here's the satellite collision story, in case you missed it - was all over the news media
This is going to be a real problem, because there is still no administrator for NASA, and this sort of thing requires a pro-active high level decision.
Since the issue has been raised, a default action to play it safe and postpone a decision is likely (although a keep going as before is also a possible default decision).
It is going to be an interesting spring.
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Apparently this made CNN and some other pubs (see Nature article here.
I have not heard anything from anyone at ST.
Oh, and NASAwatch has a new candidate for NASA adminstrator.
Posted by: Brad | February 19, 2009 10:29 PM
So what I hear now is that the debris should not be an issue for SM4 - it is at the wrong attitude and inclination - which makes sense from the rough numbers I heard;
but, there's some cracking in hydrogen valves and they're not sure if this is something to be waived or requiring a slip while fixing - launch is still on for may 12, nominally, but a delay seems also to be under active consideration
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | February 20, 2009 1:35 AM
Well, I am glad that the debris is not an issue. The valves, though, remind me why Griffin wants to retire shuttle.
Thanks for the update.
Posted by: Brad | February 20, 2009 2:27 AM