Space shuttle commander says 'we’re ready to fly'

HOUSTON - The commander of Nasa's first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia accident said she was confident the spaceship would soon be cleared for flight after two crucial reviews scheduled this month.

"I'm confident in that fact that we've come a long way, and in that respect we're ready to fly this mission," Collins told a crew news conference.

"At this point, I'm not worried. I'm focused on our training," she said.

Collins said Nasa had in many cases exceeded recommendations made by the board investigating the accident that destroyed the shuttle Columbia and killed its seven astronauts in 2003, the second fatal accident in the US shuttle programme.

"If we do get to the point where a recommendation is not fulfilled in anyone's mind, we are not going to fly until we're ready to fly," she added. "I feel very confident in that."

Collins heads a seven-member crew scheduled to launch aboard the shuttle Discovery between May 15 and June 3 on a mission to the International Space Station, primarily to test new safety procedures.

Programme managers plan to meet this week to review information gathered since the Columbia accident about how debris impacts may affect the shuttle. An overall shuttle design review is slated for later this month.

An independent panel headed by former astronauts Thomas Stafford and Richard Covey had planned to issue its final evaluation last week but waited because the board wanted more information from Nasa, Covey said in a statement.

The Stafford-Covey group's charter is to assess NASA's fulfilment of the 15 recommendations the Columbia accident investigators made for the safe return of the shuttle fleet to flight. Final clearance on eight recommendations is pending.

Columbia was destroyed due to wing damage from a piece of insulation that fell off the shuttle's fuel tank during launch. Sixteen days later, as the shuttle sped through Earth's atmosphere toward landing, superheated gases breached the damaged wing, breaking the ship apart and killing its crew.

Nasa redesigned the fuel tank and spent millions of dollars on cameras, sensors, radars and a 15m extension for the shuttle's robot arm to make sure any damage from launch debris is detected long before the shuttle re-enters Earth's atmosphere.

Other safety upgrades include materials, tools and techniques to attempt repairs in space on the shuttle's thermal protection system and a plan to use the space station as a temporary shelter for shuttle crew members if their ship is too damaged to safely return to Earth.

The shuttle arrived on Thursday at its seaside launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, several hours behind schedule.

Initially, the move from the assembly building was delayed when a technician spotted a small crack in foam insulation on the shuttle's fuel tank. Engineers determined the flaw was insignificant and would not need to be fixed before launch.

Later, a problem with the shuttle's transporter surfaced as Discovery started climbing up a ramp leading to the launchpad. Technicians also had to replace a circuit card in the transporter that carried the shuttle to the launchpad.

- REUTERS