Dennis Threatens Discovery Launch Date

BitFluid writes "According to CNN.com, hurricane Dennis is casting doubt on the shuttle's July 13th launch date. From the article: 'NASA has until the end of July to send Discovery on a flight to the international space station, otherwise it must wait until September to ensure a daylight launch.' Shuttle managers decided Thursday evening to begin initial preparations to move Discovery from the pad, as the hurricane increased in intensity and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida's southern tip. NASA spokesman George Diller said, 'We're going to keep our options open. We're still trying to protect the 13th.'"

Comments

It's better for them to wait..

[CyricZ]

... than to destroy yet another shuttle.

Re:Poor Location

[FatAlb3rt]

Politics is what put JSC in Houston. Geography by way of physics is what put KSC in Florida.

Re:Poor Location

[Otter]

Why don't they pack up shop and move to Texas or New Mexico? If they can set off a nuke there, I think a rocket accident is the least of their worries.

I think because if a down-range accident happens, you want the wreckage to land in the ocean, not on Phoenix or Ciudad Juarez.

Re:Some more info...

[EnronHaliburton2004]

half on PR

Well can you blame them?

The President shut down the Shuttle program after the last crash. Of COURSE it's PR. But if they don't take every single stupid precaution, NASA will get shut down immediately, which means that there won't be a US space program until the private space businesses catch up, if they ever do.

Our society is incredibly risk-adverse today, and they don't seem to understand that travelling to space is a very dangerous business. The astronauts all know that, and they chose to take the risk.

In the past, how many explorers lost their lives when travelling across the great oceans? None of us would be here today if some big beureaucratic government kept the boat in the dock until the sailors fixed every little flaw in the boat.