NASA: Over Eager to Fly?
8 April 2003: Space Shuttle Program Launch Manifest 27 Mar 2003, NASA JSC
“As a goal, the SSP shall plan for corrective actions and reviews which support a launch opportunity as early as the Fall of 2003.”
Editor’s note: In Congressional hearings this morning Sean O’Keefe repeated the agency’s goal of Fall 2003 (as outlined in Bill Readdy’s memo) as an earliest possible return to flight date for the Shuttle. However, based on this official program schedule, issued a week after Readdy’s memo, it would seem that some folks in the agency are even more optimistic and are working towards a launch date for STS-114 NET (No Earlier Than) 21 July 2003.
8 April 2003: Space Shuttle Program Launch Manifest 8 Apr 2003, NASA JSC
Editor’s note: I stand corrected. Thanks to an alert NASA Watch reader we now have the subsequent manifest which shows a shift from the previous NET 21 July date to NET 1 October 2003. Still, it is rather interesting that nearly 2 months after the accident that NASA was holding to a mid-summer launch date – until Readdy’s correction.
