NASA Cuts Short ‘Realistic’ Shuttle Test

Five astronauts boarded a space shuttle Tuesday for the first time since the Challenger explosion, but the mock countdown was halted 25 seconds short of the simulated engine firing by problems with computer software.

Several other problems arose that might have halted a real launch, but NASA spokesman Jim Ball said officials considered the test successful because it accomplished its main goal: maintaining launch team sharpness during the long flightless period following the Challenger explosion.

Robert Gibson, who commanded the astronaut crew aboard the shuttle Atlantis, termed it a good test and said “it was a morale booster, even though it was a simulation, and a real morale booster for the launch team. The fact that we had problems made it more realistic.”

Experiences Flashbacks

Gibson said it was “difficult to look at the launch pad and the orbiter without flashbacks (to the Challenger accident). I don’t think we’ll ever get over it. But I decided a long time ago I’m going to fly again.”

The crew that boarded Atlantis on Tuesday was the same one that flew the last successful shuttle flight aboard Columbia. That mission ended 10 days before Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, killing the seven crew members.

The three remaining shuttles have been grounded while engineers redesign the faulty booster rocket joint that caused the accident.

Most of Tuesday’s problems were associated with procedures developed because of the condition Atlantis is in--minus many of its components. The software that halted the count, for example, was written specifically because the three main engines are missing and it would not have been used during an actual countdown, Ball said.

Series of Problems

Other problems developed with a helium pressure regulator, a ground computer, a battery and a navigation system.

The exercise was to have ended with a mock engine ignition, followed by an engine failure and shutdown to give the flight crew and launch teams experience handling an emergency.

Joining Gibson during the exercise were pilot Charles Bolden and mission specialists George Nelson, Steven Hawley and Franklin Chang-Diaz.

Another group of seven rookie astronauts will be on board Atlantis on Thursday to take part in an emergency crew escape exercise in which they will be pulled to safety by fire and rescue workers.