Problems cloud NASA's Thanksgiving

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- In orbit above Earth this Thanksgiving Day, aboard the International Space Station, American astronaut Michael Foale will share his meal with his Russian cosmonaut counterpart Alexander Kaleri.

In 1998, after decades of planning and dozens of false starts, NASA celebrated the Thanksgiving of its dreams when the first piece of the ISS finally reached orbit. Launch of the Russian-built, U.S.-financed cargo hold named Zarya -- Russian for "sunrise" -- was hailed as the opening of a new and bold chapter in human history, on par with ground-breaking for the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

Now, instead of a bustling, thriving laboratory on the verge of its final phase of construction, the outpost is quiet, with limited research projects under way and only a caretaker crew of two living aboard.

More than half the station's modules and equipment remain in storage, and add-ons, which originally were part of the basic design to support seven-member crews, are on indefinite hold.

After the Feb. 1 Columbia accident, which killed seven astronauts, NASA and its partners decided to reduce the size of the station crew to save on supplies. The shuttles, which were the station's main supply transports, have been grounded since the disaster. Russia has taken over crew taxi services, as well as cargo transports.

At best, it could be about another year before a space shuttle flies and no one at NASA even talks about a worst-case scenario.

"We're trying to launch when we can, safely. And if that means we launch in September, that's fine. If it means we don't launch a flight, any flight, in 2004, that's fine too," said NASA astronaut Jim Halsell, who is coordinating the agency's return-to-flight efforts. "It will be when it happens."

A year ago NASA was optimistically marching toward the end of what has come to be called Phase 2 construction, a milestone that not only would have completed the core U.S. commitment for the space station assembly, but also was seen as a redemption for NASA, which was on probation after overspending its station budget by billions of dollars.

The agency had just signed a commitment with its partners to expand the station crew size when the Columbia accident occurred. Now all attention is focused on making the shuttle safer, revamping NASA program management and questioning again the purpose of flying people in space.

Rather than discussing NASA's plans to expand the outpost, lawmakers last week voted to cut $200 million from the station budget.

"This is going to put a severe crimp in our reserves," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe told reporters.

While the accident highlighted the vulnerability of the shuttles, which are the only vehicles that can be used to carry the remaining station modules to orbit, plans for development of a new crew transport system are being contested by some members of Congress who want clarification on the space program's goals and objectives before handing out checks for more engineering programs.

Most discussion about the space station these days is about how it can be used as a safe haven for shuttle astronauts awaiting rescue if their own ship becomes too damaged for the ride back home. This option wasn't available to the Columbia crew, which did not visit the outpost during their 16-day research mission.

NASA also failed to recognize the Columbia was in any danger prior to its breakup over Texas, which occurred just minutes before it was due to land in Florida.

Yet, NASA remains optimistic the station will fulfill its goal of becoming a world-class research laboratory.

"Together with our international partners we have learned how to build, operate and maintain a very complex spacecraft, through the good times and the bad," said program manager Bill Gerstenmaier. "We look forward to the future, with a vast expansion of the station on the horizon."

--

Irene Mona Klotz covers air and space for UPI Science News. E-mail sciencemail@upi.com