Allard Beutel Flying Quotations

The data from the ongoing engineering analysis on the PAL ramp seems to be pointing in the direction of not flying with the PAL ramp for STS-121.

Overall, as a class, they will not be shuttle astronauts. They will be space station astronauts, testing and flying whatever is the new exploration vehicle.

If, and only if, our further testing and analysis supports flying without a PAL ramp is aerodynamically alright to do, as our preliminary analysis indicates it would be, then the May launch window is still possible to make. If our new testing and analysis indicates we need the PAL ramp, we'll stop our shuttle processing, reassess and work the issue from there.