• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

NASA sends shuttle to space, debris fears arise

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 19:29 CDT

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)

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category