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Space shuttle Discovery launched on key mission

Posted on: Tuesday, 4 July 2006, 14:19 CDT

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)

Source: REUTERS

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