Posted on 07/26/2005 4:18:07 PM PDT by ConservativeDude
NASA examining images showing debris falling from Discovery Shuttle's near-perfect launch marks return to flight By MARK CARREAU Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The rush of emotion from a near-perfect launch of the space shuttle Discovery was dampened today when NASA reported sightings of the same type of debris falling from the craft that fatally damaged Columbia 2 1/2 years ago.
Thundering upward atop a pillar of fiery exhaust, Discovery soared safely into orbit today to end a near 30-month ban on NASA shuttle flights imposed by the 2003 Columbia accident.
The shuttle and its seven astronauts lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:39 a.m. CDT, climbing steeply on a northerly course into a brilliant blue sky.
But NASA this afternoon acknowledged two different observations of debris falling away from space shuttle Discovery afternoon just minutes after the vehicle's launch.
Two chase planes and more than 100 cameras documented the ascent from every possible angle to capture any sign of flying debris of the sort that doomed the last flight.
The observations, one by radar, one by a new camera mounted on the external tank, show potential debris at the time when two solid rocket boosters fell away from the shuttle.
Julie Payette, at Johnson Space Center's mission control, informed the crew of the observations by the imagery team shortly before the astronauts' 3:39 p.m. bed time.
She stressed that the analysis was preliminary, and would be reviewed during the coming hours by specialists.
Payette said mission control would have more information for the crew when it woke up, around midnight.
She also said the observations would not change tomorrow's game plan, which includes the extension of a 100-foot robotic arm to observe the wings and nose of the space shuttle for potential damage from debris during the shuttle's ascent.
It was also disclosed that the nose cone of the fuel tank hit a bird during a liftoff.
Space shuttle Columbia was damaged when a chunk of foam fell from its external tank during the first 90 seconds of its launch in 2003 and clipped its wing.
Unlike the Columbia astronauts, who had no knowledge of the gaping hole in their spacecraft's wing and no realistic way of plugging it, the Discovery crew has a variety of inspection and repair techniques on board. But they are all untested. And even the best of the bunch could not fix a hole the size of the one that destroyed Columbia.
The astronauts will try out the repair kits on deliberately broken samples of thermal tiles and panels. They will practice working with goo and other patching materials and different types of brushes, putty knives and a caulking gun.
If any serious damage is found, NASA will have to choose between attempting repairs or, more likely, moving the shuttle crew into the space station for at least a month to await rescue by space shuttle Atlantis, which is already being readied for liftoff. Both scenarios are extremely risky.
The emotion that accompanied the dramatic display of NASA's long recovery from Columbia's demise was evident in the cockpit as the final moments of the countdown ticked away.
The firing room in the Launch Control Center was hushed of all but the crisp exchanges between NASA launch and test directors as they made their last-minute safety checks and reported the outcome to the mission management team.
"We are go for launch!," barked Wayne Hale, the mission management team chief.
"Our long wait may be over. On behalf of the many millions of people who believe so deeply in what we do, Godspeed," launch director Mike Leinbach told Discovery commander Eileen Collins and her six colleagues.
"The crew is go for launch!" Collins barked.
"Our hopes and prayers are with you," added Mark Taffet, the Discovery test conductor.
"Thank you very much," said Collins.
And then they were off.
A crowd inside an auditorium at Johnson Space Center roared when Discovery safely lifted off. Hundreds of employees, students and their families had packed the auditorium to watch the launch on a movie screen.
"This is a huge morale booster," said Kristen Painting, an engineering co-operative student at NASA from Valparaiso University. "I really believe this is going to help us get things going here."
Some two hours later, after Discovery had settled into orbit, Discovery commander Eileen Collins radioed back: ``We know that the folks back on the planet Earth are just feeling great right now, and our thanks to everybody for all the super work that's been done over the past 2½ years to get us flying again.''
Mission Control replied by promising to bring the astronauts home safely.
Collins' crew includes pilot Jim Kelly, flight engineer Steve Robinson as well as mission specialists Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, Charles Camarda and Soichi Noguchi of Japan.
Temporarily overcome by the emotion of the long recovery from the Feb. 1, 2003 Columbia tragedy, members of NASA's launch and mission control teams at Kennedy and the Johnson Space Center in Houston broke into applause and embraced as Discovery soared away.
First lady Laura Bush topped a short list of dignitaries who gathered at the Florida shuttleport for the sendoff. Also present were surviving family members of the 14 astronauts who perished aboard Columbia as well as aboard the shuttle Challenger in a 1986 launch explosion.
The first lady said it is "pretty terrific'' that the mission commander is a woman. "You're inspiring everybody,'' she later told launch controllers, following liftoff.
From Washington, the president wished the crew a safe and successful mission. "Our space program is a source of great national pride,'' he said in a statement, ``and this flight is an essential step toward our goal of continuing to lead the world in space science, human spaceflight and space exploration.''
Today's liftoff kicked off a 12-day mission to the international space station, a destination Discovery was on course to reach early Thursday.
Puzzling electrical problems with one of Discovery's four hydrogen fuel gauges forced NASA to scrub Discovery's July 13 launch attempt.
Monitored throughout the night by the launch control team, the gauges never faltered as the fuel tank was filled with superchilled liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants.
The outcome raised confidence in the minor repairs ordered by shuttle managers to Discovery's electrical grounding system and the checks of dozens of power cable connections after the failed launch attempt. Though confident their actions would solve the problem, mission managers were prepared to launch the mission with just three working gauges if necessary.
With the help of the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration, this week's countdown unfolded under heavy security. Air Force fighter jets patrolled a 35-mile no-fly zone around Discovery's launch pad and heavily armed federal security agents escorted the shuttle crew to the launch pad in the pre-dawn darkness.
The flight is making the first use of a vast new array of ground and airborne tracking cameras assembled by NASA to search for the kinds of destructive debris impacts that led to Columbia's demise. New debris impact sensors mounted in the shuttle wings as well as a camera and laser sensor boom developed for post-launch inspections of the shuttle's heat shielding by the astronauts will be evaluated as well.
More than a test flight, though, Discovery's crew carries supplies, repair gear and research equipment for the two-man space station.
"This flight represents probably the most critical moment for the continuation of space station assembly we've ever had," said NASA's Bill Gerstenmaier, the station program manager.
The orbital outpost and its crew -- Russian Sergei Krikalev and American John Phillips -- sailed 225 miles over the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia as Discovery lifted off.
With Columbia grounded, the space agency was forced to suspend the station's assembly in mid-stream. Though major construction will not resume until early next year, Discovery's crew has trained to make some additions.
At the top of the list are spacewalk repairs to the station's gyroscope steering system. Two of the four flywheels that steer and steady the outpost have faltered since mid-2002. Without repairs, it would not be possible to finish the assembly task.
During spacewalks, Robinson and Noguchi will re-wire one of the gyros that experienced a power failure in March and replace another that ground to a sudden stop in June 2002.
The two men also plan to install an equipment storage platform on the outside of the station to hold spare parts for the cooling system.
Discovery's liftoff marks the beginning of the end for the space shuttle fleet, which launched the first of its 114 flights in April 1981.
As a result of the Columbia tragedy, President Bush directed NASA to retire the remaining orbiters -- Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery -- by 2010 and accelerate the development of a successor that will transport American astronauts back to the moon as well as back and forth to the space station.
"That's enough," NASA administrator Mike Griffin told reporters earlier this month. "It's time to take what we have learned and move on." Griffin said the shuttle was as safe as NASA could make it, but was still a risky venture.
"Some things simply are inherent to the design of the bird and cannot be made better without going and getting a new generation of spacecraft. That's as true for the space shuttle as it is for your toaster oven,'' he told The Associated Press on the eve of launch.
Griffin is working on a plan to scale back the 28 missions on the shuttle's flight schedule after the Columbia tragedy. He's promised to present Congress with a curtailed flight schedule by September.
The flights that remain will be dedicated to the space station with the exception of a possible mission to the Hubble Space Telescope to extend operations of the 15-year-old orbital observatory.
Launched on the first of the ship's 31 missions in 1984, Discovery also had the distinction of leading NASA back into space in Challenger's aftermath.
Looking on were the major news organizations of Europe, Japan, Canada and Australia as well as the United States. NASA estimated a worldwide television audence of 500 million.
Discovery is due back on Earth Aug. 7 and is scheduled to touch down in Florida at 4:51 a.m. CDT.
mark.carreau@chron.com
(Eric Berger and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)
"ZOT HAPPENS!!"
Doc
I agree.
That's what they are doing this morning. They are using the robotic arm with a laser and a HD camera to scan the wings and the nose cone. You can watch live at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
It might be a weight issue.
That's not true. Didn't you see "Armageddon". They landed a shuttle on an asteroid. Without an atmosphere, yet! LOL
I saw a show on TV over the weekend. I think it was on "Modern Marvels" or something like that. They were talking about a process where they could make metals lighter than aluminum but stronger than titanium by superheating them and turning them into a glass like material. It seems like the space program would be a natural beneficiary of this process. Imagine the power of a Saturn V with half the weight!
I'm sure she wouldn't disappoint you.
Looks like a scene from "Moonraker".
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