NASA Eyes March 'Return To Flight'

(AP)  NASA has developed a "return to flight" plan for future shuttle missions — one that aims for a resumption of flights as early as next March.

The 78-page report offers a look at the steps the space agency has been taking, or is considering, in order to comply with recommendations by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

Columbia's seven astronauts were killed Feb. 1 when the shuttle broke apart as it re-entered the atmosphere from space.

The NASA plan, being released officially Monday, lists a return to a flight schedule with a March 11 "launch date," but agency spokesman Allard Beutel said the date is simply a planning date and not a foregone conclusion.

Beutel said officials are looking at a March-to-April launch window, but that could easily slip if the agency isn't able to meet all of its targeted safety steps.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, makes no mention of cost estimates for the return to flight.

For nine of the 15 return-to-flight requirements outlined by the investigative board, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration makes only pledges or discusses plans to comply. For these items, the plan talks of "potential solutions," "assessing options" or says "procedures are under evaluation," indicating that final plans are still evolving.

An example is the board's requirement that NASA find a way to "harden" the thermal protection system, making it more resistant to impact from debris. In its response, NASA says it has selected "eight near-term options" for further study and made no final decision.

The agency had specific plans to fix a basic hardware element linked to the loss of Columbia.

The spacecraft was fatally damaged during launch when a chunk of foam insulation that covered a strut attach point on the external tank peeled off and shattered a thermal protection panel in the left wing. The insulation was required to prevent the formation of ice when the tank is filled with supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen.

To avoid this problem, NASA said heaters will be incorporated at the attach point to eliminate the need for foam insulation.

But other efforts to lessen foam insulation peeling from other parts of the external tank remain under study, the agency said.

The investigative board also said NASA must develop a way for spacewalking astronauts in orbit to view the leading edge of the shuttle wings and the craft's underside. And it called on the agency to develop ways of repairing, in orbit, thermal protection tiles or panels broken during launch.

NASA said only that efforts are "under development."

Among other steps outlined in the agency's plan:

Officials will add cameras in various locations on the shuttle to get a better idea of any possible damage. For the next launch, a camera is being added to the external fuel tank to view the so-called bipod area, where the foam came off during Columbia's launch.

NASA has struck an agreement with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and other facilities to provide spy satellite camera images of the orbiter during flight.

Members of an independent advisory group will assess and evaluate NASA's progress on implementing the Columbia accident board's recommendations. The task force will be led by veteran astronauts Thomas Stafford and Richard Covey.