THE International Space Station may never be completed because of a dramatic rise in the cost of flying the space shuttle. NASA admitted last Friday that the worries over extra costs were forcing it to consider cutting planned flights.
The space shuttle has been grounded since Columbia broke apart when re-entering the Earth's atmosphere in February 2003. NASA has pushed back the return-to-flight date several times since then, most recently on 1 October after delays due to recent hurricanes scuppered plans for a March launch. It now plans to resume flying next May.
The ISS was supposed to be completed by 2010, with 28 flights scheduled before then. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommended the vehicles be retired after that. All but two of the flights were due to carry important sections of the space station. Many of these parts have been designed and built specifically to be carried by ...
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