A crippling flaw in the crucial Russian computers on board the International Space Station has added to the problems of
Atlantis space shuttle whose return to earth with Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and six others is likely to be delayed further.
The failure of the computers, which control the International Space Station's positioning, have NASA managers considering another extension of space shuttle
Atlantis' voyage to the orbiting outpost, officials said.
Without the computers, the station cannot maintain proper orbit and its crew cannot stay on board in a worstcase scenario.
The
Atlantis, on its first mission this year, blasted off last Friday to bring back Sunita after her record six-month space sojourn and was due to return next Tuesday. The mission, originally scheduled for 11 days, had already been extended by two days so that astronauts can undertake a spacewalk to repair a thermal blanket covering on the engine pod that peeled off during launch.
Since the failure of the computers, thrusters on the docked space shuttle have been fired periodically to help maintain the space station's positioning. NASA managers hoped to have the computers back up before
Atlantis and its seven crew members undock from the 16-nation space station.
But if the computers are not functioning, NASA may look into extending the space shuttle's stay a day or two. The extension is being considered since the shuttle's altitude-control jets and life support could be used to supplement the station while engineers work on the problem.
Space station programme manager Mike