Astronauts board space shuttle for practice launch
Posted on: Thursday, 15 June 2006, 15:32 CDT
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The crew set to fly aboard space shuttle Discovery scrambled into the spaceship on Thursday for a practice countdown ahead of next month's launch.
The U.S. space agency NASA has not launched a shuttle since July 2005 when Discovery blasted off to test safety upgrades imposed after the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Though the mission to the International Space Station was accomplished without significant problems, the shuttle's external fuel tank, which had been redesigned to stem the loss of potentially deadly debris, flunked its debut test flight.
NASA removed more foam and now believes there is no risk of large pieces falling off the tank during launch and striking the spaceship, as happened during Columbia's liftoff.
Columbia, its protective heat shield pierced by debris, broke up as it returned through the atmosphere for landing, killing the seven astronauts aboard.
Thursday's mock countdown, with the five-man and two-woman crew clad in bright orange flight suits, was a routine pre-launch test and one of the final steps before NASA clears a shuttle for launch.
Discovery's primary mission will be to prove that its latest safety upgrades have made it secure. It will fly to the space station to deliver supplies, equipment and a new crew member, the European Space Agency's Thomas Reiter of Germany.
If successful, NASA plans another 16 missions to the station to finish construction of the half-built outpost and possibly one last servicing call to the Hubble Space Telescope before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.
Managers are scheduled to set a firm launch date for Discovery on Saturday following a two-day flight review. The target date is July 1-19.
"I don't really know of anything out there that would preclude a July 1 launch," Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey told reporters.
Source: REUTERS
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