Use of Space Station as Shuttle Shelter Is Questioned

One of Russia’s most experienced cosmonauts, who will take over command of the International Space Station this spring, said Thursday that he had concerns about NASA’s plan to use the orbiting outpost as an emergency shelter for a damaged shuttle.

Sergei Krikalev acknowledged that chances were “very remote” that the shuttle Discovery would sustain irreparable damage at liftoff and have to remain parked at the space station while its crew awaited rescue by a second shuttle.

Nonetheless, Krikalev said the possibility needed to be taken seriously before Discovery blasted off, as early as May, and he said he had repeatedly brought up the issue with space station managers.

The planned launch of Discovery will mark NASA’s return to shuttle flight more than two years after the Columbia disaster.

NASA has devoted the last two years coming up with ways to keep foam insulation from coming off the fuel tank during liftoff, as it did on Columbia.

But if a big piece did fall off and hit the shuttle, and the damage could not be fixed, Discovery’s crew would have to remain at the space station until the shuttle Atlantis could be sent to the rescue.

That would swell the station’s occupancy to nine for a month or more: the seven shuttle astronauts and the two men who will arrive at the orbiting lab in April, Krikalev and astronaut John Phillips.

It would be difficult, Krikalev said, for the space station to accommodate seven extra people for an extended period. For one month -- the amount of time NASA estimates it would take to launch a rescue shuttle -- it would be fine, he said. Beyond that, it would be questionable.

“I think now people are aware of this and that’s why I got assurance from station managers that everything necessary needs to be done to be sure that this scenario would be avoided,” Krikalev said at a news conference in Houston, where he is training.

Krikalev knows the International Space Station better than most: He was part of the first permanent crew in 2000 and 2001. The 46-year-old cosmonaut has spent nearly two years in orbit, making him one of the world’s most experienced space travelers.

If he were in charge, Krikalev said in an interview, only four people would be aboard Discovery when it takes off this spring, making it easier to accommodate extra crew members.

Krikalev said his biggest concern was having enough supplies in the event of a stranded shuttle. He also worries about how the seven shuttle astronauts would maintain good health and stay in good spirits while camped out there, since they would not be prepared for a lengthy space stint.

Phillips said he respected Krikalev’s judgment but noted that to do all the work that needed to be done during that first post-Columbia shuttle flight, a crew of four, five or possibly even six wouldn’t be enough. That is NASA’s official position as well.