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International News Title: Shuttle launch to go ahead despite risk of 'catastrophic' faults Shuttle launch to go ahead despite risk of 'catastrophic' faults Nasa is to press ahead with next month's space shuttle launch against the advice of the agency's chief safety officer and top engineer, who have warned that the same problems that doomed Columbia in 2003 could lead to another catastrophe. The decision followed two days of "spirited discussion" among senior managers at Kennedy Space Centre about the risk of foam insulation falling from Discovery's fuel tank and striking the shuttle during its planned lift-off on July 1. Michael Griffin, the Nasa administrator, overruled colleagues who wanted the mission postponed for safety improvements, arguing that there was no danger. "We have elected to take the risk," he said. But he admitted that a "major incident" would lead to the closure of the 26-year-old shuttle programme and the likely scrapping of the half-built International Space Station. "If we were to lose another vehicle, I would be moving to figure out a way to shut the programme down," he said. "I think at that point we're done." Discovery's 13-day mission will be the second of two test flights to evaluate design changes since the Columbia tragedy in February 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated, killing seven astronauts. Last summer's return-to-flight mission also came close to disaster when a 450g (1lb) chunk of foam fell from the tank at lift-off and narrowly missed striking Discovery. The shuttle fleet has been grounded since then as engineers addressed the problem. The concern for this mission centres on 34 structures known as ice-frost ramps, which protect the tank's fuel lines from ice build-up. If a big enough chunk of debris hit a certain part of the shuttle "the results would be catastrophic", said project manager John Chapman. Nasa lists the problem as "probable/catastrophic", which means it is probable that the ramps will shed debris with catastrophic results during the remaining 16 flights before the shuttles retire in 2010. Bryan O'Connor, Nasa's safety chief, and chief engineer Christopher Scolese had recommended keeping the fleet grounded until the ramps could be redesigned. "The current design poses a relatively high risk," Mr O'Connor said in an email, adding that he was happy that his objections had at least been considered. Dr Griffin said any danger would come during re-entry, when the orbiter has to withstand scorching gases in Earth's upper atmosphere. "The crew will arrive safely in orbit, and then we will begin to look at our options," he said. The astronauts could make repairs before returning, or wait on the space station for rescue by another shuttle or a Russian Soyuz spaceship, he said. Steve Lindsey, the Discovery commander, said: "There certainly is risk with flying these ramps and we accept the risks. At this point in time it's the best we have." But James Hallock, of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, was concerned. "We're only talking about small pieces of foam, but it only took a 2lb piece to cause us to lose Columbia," he said.
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