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Washington (UPI) Mar 23, 2004 A NASA official says some of the U.S. space shuttles flew for 25 years with flaws in the rudders of the tail section, the New York Times reported Tuesday. Shuttle Program Manager William Parsons said some gears in the two-part rudder, which also acts as a speed brake, were apparently installed improperly in at least one shuttle when they were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The shuttle Discovery flew 28 missions with a flawed speed brake actuator, but experienced no failure, he said. "Loss of the rudder speed brake would mean loss of the vehicle, loss of the crew," he said. The rudder speed brake is used to guide and slow the shuttle during its high-speed re-entry and landing. Parsons said the speed brake actuators on the other remaining shuttles, the Atlantis and the Endeavour, would be removed, inspected and replaced because of suspected problems, including unexpected corrosion found on some of the parts. All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of by United Press International. CommunityEmail This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com
![]() ![]() Lockheed Martin Wednesday announced that it has been awarded a $178.5 million, two- year contract extension from NASA for Space Shuttle and International Space Station mission operations support work. |
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