Navy Commander Mark Kelly has no hesitation when it comes to the decision of being part of a four-man crew on board Atlantis – on a mission that everyone at NASA hopes will never be required….STS-300.
Lindsey has promised his wife and three children if he senses anything unsafe for this mission or any other, “I’ll walk, I won’t fly.â€
As NASA sees it, the possibility of Discovery being covered in foam debris from the fuel tank at liftoff and leaving its seven astronauts stranded at the space station, is very remote. This is due to the extensive improvements in science, technology, checks and testing since the Columbia tragedy two years ago.
‘Hopefully, the probability is so low that we are just covering ourselves,’ said Wayne Hale, deputy director for NASA’s shuttle program, at Johnson Space Center.
‘We are still going to fly with some risk,’ Hale added. ‘To characterize it otherwise would be inappropriate.’