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NASA Studying Problem With Cooling System
Saturday, March 2, 2002
(11:30 PM CT)
The International News

HOUSTON, Texas
NASA is "a lot more optimistic" that space shuttle Columbia will be able to continue its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, despite a problem with one of the shuttle's two cooling systems, a spokesman said Friday night.

"We are not in a case where we will have to come home early at this time," Mission Program Manager Ron Dittemore said.

"Our initial looks at the system show it to be stable even with the degradation, and we believe we are safe to continue on for the next 24 hours while we continue to look at other information and refine our analysis," he said.

The problem was noticed shortly after Columbia blasted off Friday. The shuttle is equipped with two fully redundant Freon cooling systems, but NASA flight rules dictate that the shuttle must return home as soon as possible if one fails.

In this case, the cooling system in question is not completely broken, but contaminated -- which caused the air filter to clog, which has limited its capability.

The cooling system is crucial for the shuttle's re-entry into the atmosphere, when temperatures reach more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Jang.com News Source)
2002 © The International News.

Dan