NASA’s Fixer-Upper Flies Again
Two years after Columbia, NASA is counting on a refurbished space shuttle to remive it's floundering human-spaceflight program. "Or bust" is not an option
PATCH JOB
The human thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston–the only facility of its kind in the world–looks like a prop from a Jules Verne movie. Picture a colossal metal drum surrounded by gargantuan pipes and fittings leaking fluid and spewing steam. By sucking air out of the chamber and running liquid nitrogen through the walls, engineers can lower the temperature to 140