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No Date Set For Return To Shuttle Flights: NASA
NASA declined Friday to set a date for a resumption of shuttle flights, saying May 2006 remained a possibility, as engineers work on solving problems with the loss of fuel tank insulation. "We have a number of critical things we have to evaluate before we set an official launch schedule," program manager Wayne Hale told reporters. "However, based on the discussion we had at the program board yesterday it appears that the May launch window is something we can begin to work on -- the launch window May 3 to May 23," Hale said. "I asked for all elements of the program to come back and give me an evaluation in about two weeks of the work they can do to meet that schedule but before we set an official launch date," he said, adding that: "we have got to get through to some of the near term work and see how we are progressing with the external tank." NASA decided July 28 to ground its three remaining shuttles after losing a chunk of foam from the external fuel tank of Discovery after its July 26 launch. It was the first shuttle flight since the February 2003 Columbia tragedy, which was blamed on damage caused to the spacecraft upon blast off by debris falling from the fuel tank insulation. The shuttle fleet, which has flown since 1981, has had two major disasters, with the 1986 Challenger explosion and 2003 in-flight breakup of the Columbia, claiming the lives of a total 14 astronauts. Amid concerns about the aging fleet, President George W. Bush decided to end flights in 2010. All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Space Shuttle, Station Were Mistakes : NASA Chief
Washington (AFP) Sep 28, 2005NASA's chief had harsh words for the space shuttle and International Space Station, calling them costly strategic mistakes in an interview out Wednesday that raised doubts about US commitment to getting the shuttle back in flight.
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