NASA is to keep its launch times secret until 24 hours before lift-off to guard against possible terrorist attacks, beginning with the next space shuttle flight.
Under its new policy, a possible four-hour window for launch times will be announced in advance until 24 hours before lift-off, when the precise time will be confirmed. But the agency denies that a confirmed time frame of four hours is too short to make any real difference to security.
The next launch, by Atlantis, will be on 4 April and will take place between 1900 and 2300 GMT.
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鈥淚f someone were designing to do some kind of spectacular attack in front of the television cameras at the time of the shuttle鈥檚 launch, they would not be able to plan it as well, if the time is not confirmed,鈥� said Michael Braukus, a spokesperson from NASA鈥檚 security programme.
He insisted that there had been no specific threat to shuttle launches and that the extra measure was in line with other security improvements in place since the September 11 attacks.
Freedom of information
鈥淲e are trying to live within a country with freedom of information, so we do need to provide some launch information. It was decided that a four hours鈥� advance was a compromise and enough time for people attending the launch,鈥� Braukus said.
Charles Vick, head of space policy at the Federation of American 快猫短视频s was also confident that the new policy would improve shuttle lift-off security, while the US was in what he termed 鈥渁 state of war鈥�.
鈥淎t least the secrecy will keep the potential adversary in a dynamic situation where it doesn鈥檛 have an answer and so its effectiveness is reduced,鈥� Vick told 快猫短视频.
鈥淣ASA is in a situation of conflict because, as well as its military requirements, it has civilian and international treaty requirements for openness,鈥� he added.
The European Space Agency (ESA) said it would not be withholding its launch times for uncrewed missions, but it would abide by NASA鈥檚 security requirements for ESA launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Exclusion zone
It is the first time in more than a decade that NASA is refusing to give out launch times in advance.
There have been 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� security measures for launches following last September鈥檚 terrorist attacks. The general public has not been permitted within 10 to 12 miles of the launch site.
But NASA did not attempt to hide the December and March launch times as they had already been publicly announced.