NASA is taking new steps to ensure Space Shuttles fly
safely into the future. Last week, during the first of what
will be an annual Service Life Extension Program (SLEP)
Summit, NASA led the U.S. space flight community in a
comprehensive debate on the long-term requirements to extend
the life of the Space Shuttle fleet.
The two-day event (March 19, 20) at NASA’s Michoud Assembly
Facility in Louisiana brought together about 200 government
and aerospace industry professionals. The summit served as an
unprecedented forum to explore, discuss, and determine what
the best strategy to safely and effectively fly the Space
Shuttle fleet to support key missions until at least the
middle of the next decade.
“The Service Life Extension Program is off to a good start,”
said NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for International
Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik.
“The SLEP Summit helped us establish the process for all the
Shuttle Program stakeholders to decide what the most
important areas of investment should be,” he said.
Summit participants heard from seven SLEP panels: Safety,
Sustainability, Infrastructure, Aerospace Industry,
Performance, Operations and Resources. The panel’s
recommendations were consolidated and submitted to NASA’s
Space Flight Leadership Council (SFLC) by the Integration
Panel.
The SFLC, composed of NASA’s senior Space Flight leadership,
identified 60 candidate projects, which are targeted at
critical service life extension issues, for further
consideration. A “Tiger Team” was chartered to prepare an
internal submittal within 30 to 45 days to be vetted during
NASA’s FY 2005 budget process this summer. The long-term
strategy will be further refined at SLEP Summit II next year.
SLEP is a key component of the NASA’s Integrated Space
Transportation Plan, which is a strategic roadmap for the
agency’s future in space transportation, including current
and future systems. The Summit also included discussion of
the Shuttle fleet’s return to flight. The fleet was grounded
after the loss of the Columbia orbiter and its crew on
February 1. Planning for the SLEP Summit began before the
Columbia accident. The Summit was dedicated to the memory of
the STS-107 crew and the resolve to return to flight.
“Flying our mission safely is our top priority, especially
when we talk about extending the life of the Shuttle fleet.
And we have to improve safety, not simply maintain it, if we
want to keep flying the Shuttle for another 15 years or so,”
said Bill Readdy, NASA Associate Administrator for Space
Flight. “Once the Columbia Accident Investigation Board has
completed its investigation and determined the cause of the
accident, all of their recommendations will be addressed and
incorporated into our investment plan,” he said.
Additional information about SLEP is available on the
Internet at:
www.mafevents.com/SLEP/home.htm
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