NASA weighs longer mission

HOUSTON – The failure of Russian computers that control the International Space Station’s positioning has NASA managers considering another extension of space shuttle Atlantis’ visit to the orbiting outpost, officials said Wednesday.

Since the computers failed earlier this week, 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 space station next Tuesday. But if the computers aren’t functioning, NASA may look into extending the shuttle’s stay a day or two.

Atlantis’ mission, originally scheduled for 11 days, was extended by two days already so astronauts can go on a spacewalk to repair a thermal blanket covering an engine pod that peeled up during launch.

Space station program manager Mike Suffredini said he expected the problem to be fixed in the next couple days. In a worst-case scenario, if at least one of the computers weren’t operating after the shuttle left, the space station’s three crew members could return to Earth, he said.

“We always have an option to depart,” Suffredini said.

On Wednesday, two astronauts went on a spacewalk to complete two tasks. They helped fold up a solar wing and tried to bring to life a rotating joint that will allow a new pair of solar arrays to track the sun.

The spacewalk began at 2:28 p.m. EDT as the astronauts were 206 miles above Eastern Europe and ended more than seven hours later. Atlantis astronauts Patrick Forrester and Steve Swanson spent the first two hours helping to store the 115-foot solar wing away in its box.

The astronauts finished the spacewalk before the joint was ready to rotate because it wasn’t properly responding to remote commands from Mission Control. Astronauts will have to finish the task on another spacewalk.