Tuesday, April 10, 2007

OH NO... She's Stuck in Space!

Thank you ________________ and ______________
Astronaut Sunita Williams is stuck in space — at least temporarily. She flew up to the international space station last December planning to come home in early July after a seven-month stay.
The problem is that a hail storm that damaged the fuel tank of the space shuttle Atlantis has knocked NASA's flight schedule for the year out of whack.
Her ticket home, space shuttle Endeavour, may get off the ground several weeks later than its originally scheduled June 28 launch.
“We're [everything we can] to make her happy, and perhaps launch some special items that will make her more comfortable for that extended period of time," said Kirk Shireman, NASA's deputy manager of the space station program. "Aside from that, there's not a whole lot that one can do."
Flight surgeon Dave Alexander said Williams' physical fitness, mental well-being and radiation exposure should be monitored carefully, but he thinks that right now, the predictions are Suni can stay up for an extended period of time.
During her longer stay in space, Williams is expected to break the U.S. record for continuous time in space, which is 437 days by Russian Valeri Polyakov.
Back to the news desk.

Be honest, and give me suggestions ---Kat