The space shuttle Discovery is set to launch this morning, and we’ll be waiting with bated breath &045; not just because we welcome a return to space but also because of the dangers involved.

When NASA was ready to launch the shuttle two weeks ago, they assured the public the craft was safe again. But a few short hours before liftoff, the space agency scrubbed the launch because of a problem with a fuel tank sensor.

NASA has spent two weeks trying to determine the problem, but may launch the shuttle anyway today, even if the sensor malfunctions again.

While we want to believe that NASA experts know whether something like this is cause for alarm or not, this is the same agency that was chastised in reports after the Columbia shuttle disaster for not having a culture of safety throughout the program.

NASA says Discovery is the &uot;safest shuttle to date.&uot;

But this is a fleet of spacecraft that first began flying a quarter of a century ago. If we want to continue our space program, we need to develop new means of travel and new methods of study.

A year ago President Bush told the nation he wants to put a man on Mars. We can’t do that with a space program stuck in neutral, still relying on aging equipment.

Our return to space depends on a safe shuttle mission with Discovery, but it must be just the beginning of improvements in the space program &045; in safety and in technology.