Space Shuttle almost prepared to get to the launch pad

Space Shuttle almost prepared to get to the launch pad

The top-level oversight board monitoring the progress of the Discovery Space Shuttle has said that NASA has come a long way and is nearing the situation where they can launch the Space Shuttle into the space. The discovery is scheduled to take off sometime next month and this would be the first ever flight for the shuttle since 2003 after the Columbia incident which resulted in death of all the crewmembers on board.

Discovery is currently being fitted with the new improved fuel tank and is due to be rolled back to the launch pad next week. The scheduled launch date is expected to be lie between July 13 and July 31. NASA has worked hard in the last 28 months to get the shuttle prepared for this launch and remove any doubts in the mind of people about the safety of the crew onboard.

The next five weeks to the launch would be a busy period for the space agency it work hard on clearing the conditions laid down by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The agency had put forward 15 directives and NASA had already met seven of them. This week has seen the agency meeting another five of the directives.

However, the remaining three recommendations are the crucial ones related to the fixes required to protect the orbiter and its crew from hazardous debris impacts or mitigating the effects of any impacts. The panel would now compile a preliminary report and present it to the NASA administrator at the end of the month to see if the shuttle is indeed prepared for the launch or not.