Shuttle may stay up longer

Press, 24 June 1983, Page 6

Shuttle may stay up longer

NZPA-Reuter Cape Canaveral The space shuttle Challenger may Stay in orbit an extra day or two because of weather at Kennedy Space Centre where it is scheduled to land, said space officials. A flight director, John Cox, told a news conference that Kennedy was the preferred landing site and the shuttle might remain in orbit if the forecast for Sunday improves.

He said that Edwards Air

Force base in California could also be used, and that a decision would probably be made today. Asked whether he would prefer the shuttle to land on the skm concrete runway at Kennedy two days late or on the desert at Edwards, Mr Cox said: “I’d like to come down where the weather’s good.” President Ronald Reagan has cancelled plans to visit Kennedy for the shuttle’s return. The White House

said that he did not want the visit to be a factor in space agency decisions on the flight. Challenger blasted off from Kennedy last Saturday and has conducted a series of operations including the launching of satellites for Canada and Indonesia. The weather is an important factor in a landing at Kennedy because the runSis bounded by canals trees. The strip at Edwards is surrounded by

desert which could be used if the shuttle missed the runway. The five astronauts on Challenger, meanwhile, demonstrated that the shuttle can approach and grasp small satellites and return them to its cargo bay. Using a 150 metre robot arm, they plucked a West German satellite from the cargo bay, released it, and then recaptured it three times.