Problems Arise with Space Station

The space station is operated mostly by US and Russian space agencies. The Russian computers that control the space station's orientation, oxygen and water supply have failed, according to the Associated Press. This may either cause the mission to be extended or delayed.

A failure such as this has never happened before, and Russian scientists do not understand what happened. A manager of the space station program at NASA, Mike Suffredini, states that between the US and Russian resources, plus the contributions received from Canada, Europe and Japan, the scientists will have plenty of time to figure it out.

The space station's mission could be extended by at least one day. In the worst case scenario, the three members of the crew could be forced to return to Earth. Suffredini states that this will happen if one of the computers is still not working after the shuttle leaves. NASA expects to have this problem fixed within a couple of days, so that the mission will not have to be extended again. The space shuttle's mission has already been extended from eleven to thirteen days so astronauts could repair a thermal blanket, used to cover an engine pod, which had partially peeled off during launch.

To repair this peeled thermal blanket, astronauts must venture outside into the space atmosphere. Managers at NASA decided Wednesday to use a spacewalk to accomplish this task. The torn thermal blanket is located near the shuttle's tail, over an engine pod. To secure the blanket back on the engine pod, astronauts will use staples from the first aid kit, and loop-headed pins from the shuttle's tile repair kit. If this initial method isn't successful, NASA advises that the astronauts will need to use "needle and thread". The "thread" in this case will actually be stainless steel wire, and the needle will be a small tool resembling a typical needle. Engineers are confident that the torn blanket will not cause any problems during landing.