| Submit your comments on this article |
| International |
| Shuttle moved to pad for ultrasecure launch |
| 2002-12-10 |
| CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- NASA moved space shuttle Columbia from its hangar to an open seaside pad for next month's liftoff under extraordinarily tight security for the first Israeli astronaut. During the slow 3.5-mile trip in the rain on Monday, an Air Force helicopter was spotted at times patrolling the area. Security was tightened at Kennedy Space Center after the September 11 terrorist attacks. But it is expected to reach an all-time high for the January 16 launch of Ilan Ramon, a colonel in Israel's air force and a former fighter pilot. Columbia's 16-day science research mission had been scheduled for July, after more than a year of delay. But the shuttle fleet was grounded by fuel-line cracks in June, and two space station delivery trips with higher priority were moved ahead of Columbia's mission. Endeavour returned from the international space station over the weekend, clearing the way for Columbia. Its mission will be one of the rare ones these days that have nothing to do with the space station. Besides Ramon, six U.S. astronauts are assigned to the mission, one of whom was born in India. Their round-the-clock research will include an Israeli experiment to study dust and other contaminants in Earth's atmosphere to see how they affect rainfall and temperature. The 48-year-old Ramon has been training at NASA since 1998 as a representative of Israel's space agency. |
| Posted by:Frank Martin |