Apr 6 1997
From The Space Library
Astronauts aboard Columbia, consulting with NASA ground support, decided to cut short their planned 16-day mission because of the potential for an explosion in the Shuttle's electronic generator. NASA decided to abort the mission after the crew had attempted for two days to fix the balky generator. Despite the fact that the Shuttle's two other generators could provide enough power for the Shuttle, NASA's procedure required the Shuttle's return, to prevent subsequent problems. Space Shuttle Program Manager Thomas W. Holloway clarified that the astronauts faced no imminent danger and that terminating the mission was a precaution rather than an emergency. "The conservative thing to do is land on Tuesday," Holloway said at a news conference. Columbia's early return to Earth in Mission STS-83 was only the third time in the history of the Shuttle program that NASA had ended a mission early. The astronauts had time to complete only a few of the planned 33 experiments on the mission, which cost nearly US$500 million.
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