Shuttle is a death trap, says astronaut

ONE OF America's most experienced astronauts has denounced the space shuttle as a death trap and accused U.S. space officials of stifling all concerns raised about its safety.The revelation comes as America prepares to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.Seven astronauts were killed on 28 January 1986, when their shuttle exploded 73 seconds after take-off.Veteran astronaut Mike Mullane's outburst therefore comes at a deeply embarrassing time for Nasa. Apart from dealing with the Challenger anniversary, it is now struggling to save its remaining space shuttles so they can complete the international space station.

However, all three are still grounded because engineers have not yet fixed insulation problems that doomed Challenger's sister craft, Columbia, in 2003."It's the most dangerous manned spacecraft ever flown," said Mullane, who took part on three shuttle missions before retiring in 1990.