Funding and technical issues force NASA to delay Space Shuttle replacement. Image: Jurvetson/Flickr.
The ever-faithful Space Shuttle may be fast running out of orbital assignments ahead of its official decommission, but funding constraints and technical issues have this week forced NASA to push back plans relating to the long-serving vehicle’s successor.
Originally scheduled to embark on its first crewed mission in September of 2013, the new Orion spacecraft and its Ares launch rocket are now expected to reach for the stars in the autumn of 2014, according to America’s space administration.
In delivering its explanation for the speed bump, NASA offered that current funds open to the development of Orion have left a 2013 launch as unattainable. Yet, despite the delay, it remains confident the spacecraft should still make its maiden voyage a full year ahead of the project’s March 2015 deadline.
NASA further explained that, through the delay, project engineers are being granted more vitally important time to address emerging technical problems associated with Orion’s wealth of new systems.
The Orion and Ares delay will now leave more than a four-year gap between the final Space Shuttle mission and the next time the U.S. sends a manned mission into space -- this will likely be addressed by use of Russian Soyuz vehicles until Orion is fully prepared
Furthermore, while its virgin flight is likely to happen on or around September of 2014, NASA does not see the Orion ferrying crew to and from the International Space Station before 2016.
According to NASA’s mission schedule, the Endeavour is pencilled in to hold the honour of being the 35th and final Space Shuttle carrying a crew of astronauts to the stars. It is expected to blast into orbit on a 15-day mission on May 31 of 2010.
The next Shuttle flight on NASA’s itinerary, which is listed as October 08 of 2008, will see Atlantis launched on a mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.
There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)