Space shuttle Discovery launched on key mission

By Deborah Zabarenko

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – The space shuttle
Discovery roared off its Florida launch pad and soared into
orbit on Tuesday on a key mission whose failure could end the
U.S. shuttle program prematurely.

After two weather postponements during the weekend, skies
cleared at the Kennedy Space Center and allowed NASA to
successfully launch Discovery on just the second shuttle flight
since the destruction of the shuttle Columbia and the deaths of
seven crew members in February 2003.

Discovery, carrying six Americans and a German, lifted off
from the seaside launch site at 2:38 p.m. EDT (1838 GMT) and
jettisoned its booster rockets about 2 and a half minutes into
the flight. It reached orbit about 9 minutes after launch.

“Discovery is ready, the weather is beautiful and America
is ready to return the space shuttle to flight,” said launch
director Mike Leinbach a few minutes before liftoff. “So good
luck and godspeed Discovery.”

“I can’t think of a better place to be, here on the Fourth
of July,” shuttle commander Steve Lindsey replied, referring to
U.S. Independence Day.

Discovery’s 12-day mission is critical to NASA’s plan to
finish the half-built, $100-billion space station before the
shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. Another accident or serious
problem likely would ground the shuttles permanently.

NASA launched the 115th shuttle mission since 1981 after
managers decided a crack in the foam that insulates Discovery’s
massive external tank posed no launch hazard.

Inspectors discovered the 5-inch long, 1/2-inch wide crack
in the fuel tank foam following the second launch attempt on
Sunday. A small wedge of foam broke away and was found on the
launch platform.

NASA experts inspected the area early on Tuesday to see if
any potentially damaging ice had formed in the area of the
crack, but none had.

“That is good news, that there has not been any ice buildup
in that area where the insulation was lost,” flight commentator
George Diller said.

PROBLEMS WITH FALLING FOAM

Problems with falling foam insulation have been a key
concern for NASA since the fatal disintegration of Columbia on
February 1, 2003. That accident was caused by a briefcase-sized
chunk of foam that hit Columbia’s left wing on launch, opening
a hole that let in superheated gas during re-entry, killing all
seven crew.

Despite extensive investigation, trouble-shooting and new
design features, the problem recurred a year ago during a
launch of Discovery. It forced NASA to ground the shuttle fleet
while engineers worked on more modifications.

The U.S. space agency spent $1.3 billion on tank fixes and
safety upgrades in the last three years.

Even before this latest problem with foam, NASA
administrator Michael Griffin had decided to proceed with the
current launch over objections of his chief engineer and head
of safety.

Lindsey, 45, pilot Mark Kelly, 42, and mission specialists
Mike Fossum, 48, Lisa Nowak, 43, Stephanie Wilson, 39, and
Piers Sellers, 51, waved small American flags as they headed
from their quarters to the launch pad, marking the U.S.
Independence Day. Thomas Reiter, 48, of Germany, waved a German
flag. Reiter will be staying aboard the space station, raising
the number of crew there to three.

The shuttle is headed toward the space station to deliver
equipment and supplies, make repairs to a mobile rail cart, and
deliver a new crewmember. Since the Columbia accident, the
station has been operated by two crew to save on supplies.

The primary goal of the mission, however, is to test the
new tank design and other safety upgrades.

(Additional reporting by Jim Loney and Irene Klotz)