NASA sends shuttle to space, debris fears arise

By Irene Klotz and Michael Christie

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – NASA successfully launched
space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday, but anxiously reviewed
video showing debris falling from the craft during liftoff, the
same problem that caused the fatal Columbia disaster 2-1/2
years earlier.

The debris did not appear to hit the shuttle during the
smooth morning blastoff, marking a triumphant U.S. return to
manned space travel after the long struggle to recover from
Columbia’s breakup over Texas.

Engineers hoped to know by Sunday whether Discovery was
damaged and whether the crew should attempt repairs, flight
operations manager John Shannon said.

A chunk of foam from an external fuel tank hit Columbia’s
wing during liftoff on Jan. 16, 2003, and caused a breach that
tore the shuttle apart when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere 16
days later. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.

Discovery, also carrying seven crew members, soared into
slightly hazy skies on Tuesday, leaving behind a trail of smoke
and flames, while the roar of its booster rockets rattled
windows and shook the ground across Cape Canaveral in Florida.

“I want to ask you all to take note of what you saw here
today,” said NASA’s new administrator Michael Griffin, basking
in a palpable sense of relief that swept through the launch
management team after Discovery safely reached orbit.

“The power and the majesty of the launch, of course, but
also the competence and the professionalism, the sheer gall,
the pluckiness, the grittiness of this team that pulled this
program out of the depths of despair two years ago and made it
fly.”

Discovery’s main mission on the 12-day space flight under
veteran astronaut Eileen Collins is to test new safety measures
and heat shield repair techniques introduced since sister ship
Columbia disintegrated on Feb. 1, 2003.

‘FRAME BY FRAME’

An unprecedented array of 112 cameras, radars and sensors
was set up to monitor Discovery’s launch. One showed what may
have been a small chip from an insulating tile falling off the
underside of the shuttle’s nose cone, Shannon said.

Another seemed to show a larger piece of debris peeling off
the exterior fuel tank. Mission control officials at Johnson
Space Center in Houston said technicians would analyze the data
“frame by frame” to see if there was any damage.

“We will know in two days everything that fell off the
vehicle,” Shannon said.

NASA has spent more than $1 billion on safety upgrades
since the Columbia accident, and worked to correct what
investigators called a “broken safety culture” that was too
dismissive of risk.

“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 2 1/2 years to get us
flying again,” Collins told mission control in Houston a few
hours after launch.

She paid tribute to Columbia and its crew, reading off
their names before Discovery’s crew retired for the night.

“We miss them and we are continuing their mission,” Collins
said.

Discovery’s other main mission is to deliver several tonnes
of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station,
whose construction has been on hold since the remaining three
shuttles were grounded in the aftermath of Columbia.

Discovery’s launch was delayed for two weeks while
engineers searched for the cause of an elusive problem with one
of its hydrogen fuel-level sensors during the first launch
attempt on July 13.

During Tuesday’s countdown, however, all the sensors worked
perfectly. Even Florida’s normally fickle summer weather
cooperated and Discovery lifted off smoothly, its two solid
rocket boosters pouring out 6.5 million pounds (3 million kg)
of thrust and enough energy to light 87,000 homes for a day.

Crowds of onlookers, including first lady Laura Bush and
President Bush’s brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, held their
breath during the critical first two minutes of flight, then
cheered when launch commentators announced that the shuttle had
safely separated from the boosters.

The shuttle arced over the Atlantic Ocean, and settled into
its planned preliminary orbit just under 9 minutes later after
reaching a speed of up to 17,400 mph (28,205 kph).

The crew’s first task will be to use a new 50-foot
(15-meter) extension to the spaceship’s robot arm to survey its
nose and the leading edges of its wings for damage.

The shuttle, carrying Collins, pilot Jim Kelly, Japan’s
Soichi Noguchi and astronauts Charles Camarda, Steve Robinson,
Andy Thomas and Wendy Lawrence, was scheduled to reach the
International Space Station on Thursday for a week-long stay.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Zabarenko and Jane Sutton)