Earthly woes mount for International Space Station

Space station modules and hardware await launch at a NASA facility

May 29, 2000
Web posted at: 2:58 p.m. EDT (1858 GMT)

In this story: 'Let's go' Delays cost billions Safety concerns RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Miles O'Brien

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida -- NASA's latest mission to shore up the International Space Station ended Monday on a high note, with shuttle astronauts successfully boosting its power and position above Earth.

VIDEO CNN's Space Correspondent Miles O'Brien takes a look at the problems. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

INTERACTIVE A 360° stroll through the International Space Station Cult 3-D model of the International Space Station     MESSAGE BOARD International Space Station

But some officials, including a key space lawmaker, question whether Russia is ready to take the project to its next step: installation of the service module.

Russia is scheduled to launch the module in July, two years behind schedule.

The module, which will control and guide the station and provide living quarters for the vanguard crews, is a cornerstone of the million-pound station. Without it, the most audacious engineering puzzle ever envisioned will be at a standstill.

Astronaut Bob Cabana, now space station manager, went to the space station on the first -- and still only -- assembly mission in December 1998. Nine more U.S. and Russian missions should have happened since then.

Instead, there have been only two, including Atlantis' mission last week.

A Russian Proton rocket

As he surveys an overflowing cache of hardware at NASA's Space Station Processing Facility -- hardware that should have gone up long ago -- Cabana said he can't help but feel frustration.

"I look at all this flight hardware that is ready to launch, and I say let's go," Cabana said. "It is hard for the crews to be assigned that long and working on it and trying to get going."

The 43-foot service module is Russia's primary contribution to the space station, a partnership effort of 16 nations. Besides serving as early station living quarters, the Zvezda module will also contain systems for life support, data processing and communications.

It represents the structural and functional center of the Russian segment of the station.

Assuming the launch takes place in July, Atlantis will return to the station in mid-August to outfit the service module for its first long-term occupants.

Shuttle crew members monitor ventilation aboard Russia's Zarya space station module

So far, however, the Russians have been hard-pressed to live up to their commitment to the project.

First, they suffered from a lack of funds. Then, a pair of proton rockets, which they'll use to carry the service module, failed.

According to one congressional estimate, the delays have added another $5 billion to a project already priced at $60 billion.

Meanwhile, the Russians still are using precious resources to hang on to the space station Mir, now 14 years old and occupied by a privately financed crew.

Cabana said he believes the Russians are serious about keeping their commitment for a July launch. Others aren't so sure.

To U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Florida, Russia's delays are a "scandal" about which most Americans are unaware. Weldon's district includes Cape Canaveral, home base for shuttle launches.

"We have got to fish or cut bait, and I think it is time to cut bait with the Russians," said Weldon, a member of the House Science Committee and vice chairman of a subcommittee that studies space and aeronautics issues. "They are just not delivering, and they are putting their resources in keeping Mir afloat, and that to me is a very clear signal that they have never been truly serious about their involvement in the International Space Station."

The delays aren't all that give managers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration heartburn.

Some are concerned the Russians are cutting corners on safety. A recent report by the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, concludes Russian space components do not meet some critical NASA safety requirements.

The report finds fault with the service module on several fronts: It isn't properly shielded against micrometeoroids; equipment is inoperable after a loss of cabin pressure; and windows do not meet NASA specifications.

The report also raises concerns that noise levels inside are unacceptably high.

Many people at NASA are starting to believe it was easier to go to the moon than build a space station with 15 other nations as partners.

"In some ways it was, because we had total control," Cabana said. "We didn't have to ask, 'What is your opinion on this? How do you want to do it?' You know, we just dictated to ourselves how we are going to do it."

But those days are gone. In this new era of space exploration, NASA is learning its biggest challenges may be the ones it faces right here on the ground.

Downlinks with Miles O'Brien
Shuttle returns to Earth after space station tuneup
May 29, 2000
Atlantis returns to Earth; NASA calls mission success
May 29, 2000
NASA scientists watch for wind, rain as shuttle Atlantis heads home
May 28, 2000
Mission accomplished: Shuttle crew rests after departing repaired space station
May 27, 2000
Task complete, shuttle crew closes spruced-up space station
May 26, 2000

International Space Station
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