Return to flight

Despite unsettling news that NASA has not complied with all the safety recommendations made in the aftermath of the 2003 Columbia disaster, Administrator Michael Griffin is confident the shuttle Discovery is ready for takeoff. Shuttle program officials unanimously backed Mr. Griffin’s assurance Thursday when they gave Discovery a “go” for its scheduled July 13 launch. If that decision holds, shuttle Commander Eileen Collins and her six-man crew would be the first Americans to return to space since Columbia broke apart over the skies of Texas on Feb. 1, 2003.

The excitement of the occasion of course is shadowed with doubt. NASA provided similar assurances before Discovery launched on Oct. 3, 1988 — the first shuttle flight since Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, 1986. Back then, the program was deemed the safest it had ever been. Discovery is being asked to return the program to flight once more, and after a similar two-and-a-half-year suspension that NASA instituted in the wake of the Challenger disaster. The program operated for 15 more years before losing another crew. President Bush has asked the program to operate for only another five, until 2010.

On Monday, an advisory panel said NASA has not fulfilled three of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board’s recommendations. Specifically, these recommendations dealt with: eliminating all potentially damaging ice and foam debris shed during takeoff by the shuttle’s external fuel tank; strengthening the shuttle’s heat shielding to withstand debris impact; and developing a way for astronauts to repair shuttle damage while in orbit.

Reading the list, it looks as if NASA has been unable to remedy the very problems that brought down Columbia. But there’s a difference between full compliance and reasonable assurance. “At this point we must say that we have reduced the level of risk … to an acceptable level, or we must say that we don’t want to fly the shuttle again,” said Mr. Griffin, underscoring the necessary point that there will always be risks associated with space travel.

Mr. Griffin also said that many of the CAIB’s recommendations were simply unrealistic. “The fact is that several recommendations taken word for word are not implementable with the state of our knowledge,” he said. “If someone wants more, they’re going to have to find smarter humans.”

That’s a pretty blunt assessment. Considering Mr. Griffin’s strong technical background, we must defer to his opinion and that of his scientists on these matters. Admittedly, NASA is an agency with a checkered past, but this is a business without guarantees. As long as there’s a will, the United States must continue to send human beings into space.