Returning to space

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

NASA officials this week released plans to resume space-shuttle flights as early as March 11. The space agency grounded the fleet after the shuttle Columbia broke apart on Feb. 1, killing seven astronauts. In a scathing report, investigators recommended a host of changes to avoid the problems that doomed Columbia, which disintegrated when superheated gases entered a wing through a hole punched by debris on liftoff. Modifications will let the next crew inspect and repair heat shields in orbit. Critics called it unrealistic to expect safety concerns to be resolved so quickly, but a NASA spokesman said the next shuttle launch would be postponed to June or later, unless “we’re fit to fly.”