US astronaut Dr David Wolf will spend the rest of this year aboard the Russian space station, Mir, because the mission poses no "unnecessary peril", NASA administrator Mr Daniel Goldin said yesterday. Dr Wolf was scheduled to blast off with the rest of the crew of space shuttle Atlantis, at 0234 GMT today for a rendezvous with Mir. Dr Wolf will change places on Mir with another US astronaut, Michael Foale.
Mr Goldin said he was "deeply touched" by concerns in Congress and elsewhere about serious mishaps aboard Mir in recent months, but his decision to go ahead with the joint US-Russian programme was informed by independent reviews of the station's safety.
"I have concluded the programme has a thorough review process that ensures continued American participation on board Mir and does not put human life in unnecessary peril," Mr Goldin said at the NASA headquarters of the in Washington. "Our decision is based on scientific and technical assessment of the mission's safety and the agency's ability to gain additional experience and knowledge that cannot be gained elsewhere."
Critics in Congress, notably Representative James Sensenbrenner, who chairs the House Science Committee, have said no more Americans should go to Mir until safety problems are rectified. Mir's troubles had turned US astronauts into "Mr Fixits" who have been so busy doing repairs that science has gone by the boards.
Beyond concerns of safety and science, the decision to continue co-operation with the Russians on Mir has diplomatic consequences, since the joint project has become a symbol of peaceful bilateral cooperation. NASA considers co-operation on Mir essential if work is to proceed on the as-yet-unbuilt $40 billion International Space Station.
However, when Mr Goldin was asked whether concerns about future work with the Russian space agency had an impact on his decision, he replied: "Our only concern, my only concern, was the safety of the US astronauts and the productivity of the mission and that did not factor in. It shouldn't factor in. As NASA administrator, I worry about science and technology and safety."
Mr Goldin said that besides reviewing three separate reports on Mir's fitness, he talked to Dr Wolf (41), a physician-astronaut. He said Dr Wolf considered the risk of the shuttle's ascent was greater than the risk aboard Mir, but that this was an acceptable risk.
Mr Goldin said the decision - first expected on Tuesday - had been made late on Wednesday, the same day he returned from a visit to Moscow. "I wouldn't wish to inflict this pain on any human being," Mr Goldin said of the decision-making process. "I don't sleep nights and there's only one thing on my mind, for weeks now: the safety of our American astronauts."