NASA Reduces Shuttle Trips For Space Station Completion

With a number of exciting events occuring, the International space station has been the subject of much talk the last couple of days. Yesterday, the 2-man crew Houston Chronicle: The Feb. 1, 2003, loss of Columbia and its seven crew members forced NASA to ground its fleet of space shuttles, the main space station assembly craft. Shuttle missions could resume between May 12 and June 3. Officials have estimated that it will take 28 missions to complete the space station "The best way to minimize the risk is to minimize the number of flights," said departing NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who becomes the chancellor of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge next month. "It's in the best interest of all partners involved to complete the assembly as promptly as we can, and that means the fewest flights." President Bush wants NASA to finish space-station work by the end of the decade so it can focus on a new exploration initiative that would return U.S. astronauts to the moon by 2020 and prepare for human missions to Mars. Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.