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Nature 421, 561-562 (6 February 2003) | doi:10.1038/421561a
Columbia explosion may trigger fatal delays for space station
Tony Reichhardt
The future of the International Space Station — the US$25-billion project to place a permanent scientific laboratory in orbit — is hanging by a thread this week after the loss of the space shuttle Columbia cut its main lifeline to Earth.If investigations into the accident (see next item) drag on for more than a few months without a conclusive answer, or uncover pervasive problems that keep the remaining three shuttle vehicles on the ground, construction of the station will stall and the prospect that it will ever be fully crewed could permanently recede, experts on the project say.
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