Space Agency Moves Quickly To Meet CAIB Recommendations

When NASA reveals its "Return To Flight" plan Monday, the agency will explain just how it plans to implement recommendations from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) in time to get a shuttle back in orbit by March.

The New York Times, claiming to have obtained a copy of the "Plan for the Return To Flight and Beyond," shows exactly what steps NASA proposes to take to comply with the 29 CAIB recommendations made after the investigation into why Columbia broke apart during re-entry. The February 1st destruction of Columbia killed all seven astronauts on board.

In its plan, NASA promises to develop ways to "harden" the shuttle, according to The Times. Other plans include development of a heat-resistant "band-aid" to patch external hull breaches. NASA says it's going above and beyond the CAIB recommendations by exploring ways to use the constantly-manned International Space Station as a haven for shuttle crews with noplace else to go. Columbia, the first production version of the shuttle, was too heavy to make the ISS's 240-mile orbital altitude.

The space agency also promises better training for mission managers like Linda Hamm. In taped teleconferences with other mission managers, she dismissed the possibility of a hull breach. She said, since there was nothing shuttle crew members could have done about a hull breach caused by launch debris, the issue wasn't a problem.

NASA must complete 15 of the CAIB's 29 tasks before launching another shuttle mission. That's a lot of work between now and NASA's next launch date, in March.

FMI: www.nasa.gov