Time to move on from shuttle, says astronaut

摘要

As Nature went to press, the space shuttle Discovery was poised for a 13 July launch in the first shuttle mission since Columbia burned up on re-entry in February 2003. NASA managers have done their best to fix the problems that led to the disaster, but the 21-year-old vehicle still faces significant risks. Three-time shuttle astronaut George 'Pinky' Nelson had the unique experience of flying the missions immediately before and after the 1986 Challenger accident. An astrophysicist, he left NASA in 1989 and now directs the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education programme at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Nature asked him how it felt to be one of the first astronauts flying the shuttle after a disaster, and what he thinks of NASAs plans.