Hurricanes Blow Back NASA Plans

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 – NASA has abandoned plans to resume
flying the space shuttle next March because of the impact of four hurricanes
on space
agency centers and work schedules, officials said Friday.

The remaining three space shuttles have been grounded since the Columbia
and its crew of seven was destroyed upon re-entry from space on Feb.
1, 2003. Accident investigators attributed the disaster to an undetected
breach in one of the shuttle’s wings at launching and a lax safety culture
at NASA, and they stipulated 15 recommended reforms that must be carried
out before the fleet flies again.

NASA officials said they had met 5 of the 15 recommendations and would resume
flights only when the benchmarks were met, not because of a time schedule

from the New
York Times