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NASA cuts Columbia mission short
April 6, 1997
Web posted at: 1:05 p.m. EDT (1705 GMT)Latest developments:
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- Just two days after U.S. space shuttle Columbia soared into space, NASA announced Sunday that the 16-day mission would be cut short because of a failing electric generator.
It marks only the third time NASA has ended a shuttle mission prematurely. The shuttle and its seven crew members are scheduled to return to Kennedy Space Center at 2:35 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
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"The data we do have indicates a performance problem," NASA's Tommy Holloway said at a Sunday news conference. "We have come to the conclusion that the conservative thing to do is to land (Columbia) on Tuesday."
NASA made the announcement after the shuttle's mission operations officials met early Sunday to determine whether to continue with the mission.
The failing generator, called a fuel cell, had been losing voltage since Friday's launch. Fuel cells produce electricity that drives all of the shuttle's systems, and flight rules require that all three be operating properly in orbit.
NASA, in explaining its decision to call off the mission, said engineers were unable to pinpoint what was causing the problem. "The consensus is they just do not understand the behavior of fuel cell 2," Mission Control said.
What NASA says: 
Humphries ...on problems facing Columbia
(128K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)Bantle ...on what lies ahead
(255K/23 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)Humphries ...on Columbia crew
(123K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
The fuel cells combine liquid hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water in orbit. If those two fuels mixed -- a possibility when voltage drops significantly in a fuel cell -- the unit could explode. But officials have said the cell would be shut down long before that would ever happen.
NASA stressed the seven crew members were not in immediate danger.
A fuel cell was to blame for cutting short NASA's second shuttle flight in November 1981 and a failed navigation device ended a 1991 mission prematurely.
Columbia's astronauts were to conduct 33 planned experiments that are considered precursors for a future international space station. The crew was told to continue with experiments until further notice.
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