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Planetary News: Human Spaceflight (2005)U.S. Returns to Space with Successful Launch of DiscoveryBy A.J.S. RaylJuly 26, 2005 The U.S. returned to space today as Discovery -- STS-114 -- successfully blasted into space at 7:39 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time [10:39 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time] from Cape Canaveral, the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster grounded NASA's human missions into space nearly two and a half years ago. "This flight, in a way, is the beginning to clearing the roadblock for the future,'' said Louis D. Friedman, executive director of The Planetary Society. Although neither President George W. Bush, nor Vice-President Dick Cheney were on hand for the country's second space shuttle return to space, First Lady Laura Bush and her brother-in-law, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, watched from the VIP viewing site on the other side of the Banana River as Discovery lifted off Pad 39B, while more than 12,000 Americans gathered for the event at the various other launch sites around the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle is headed now for the International Space Station (ISS) on what NASA is calling a 12-day flight to test and evaluate new safety procedures. Discovery's other prime directive is to deliver several tons of supplies and equipment to the station, construction of which has been on hold since the shuttle fleet was grounded in the aftermath of the Columbia tragedy. Although the launch at first appeared to be 'picture perfect,' a few hours later NASA officials announced at a press conference that they would be closely examining three incidents involving debris. One involved what appeared to be a 1½-inch chip of thermal tile that may have come from under Discovery's nosecone in the seconds after the spacecraft lifted off. It was not known how serious the incident was, according to John Shannon, shuttle flight operations manager, who spoke at the news conference held in Houston. The crew will be able, however, to examine the area later in the flight. A second incident, which occurred a few minutes into the flight, was captured by some of the 100 cameras positioned to monitor the launch -- it showed what appeared to be a piece of debris from the external fuel tank. Despite the fact that the 100 cameras monitoring Discovery's return to space have provided NASA officials and engineers with more detailed images than before, it is not yet clear whether this loose-flying debris was out of the ordinary. Officials said they would examine the launch recordings frame-by-frame to determine exactly what had happened, and noted that the agency now has contingency plans that included possible repairs. The third event that will be analyzed took place within three seconds of launch when the vehicle killed a bird. Discovery and her seven astronauts -- commander Eileen M. Collins, pilot James M. Kelly, and mission specialists Stephen K. Robinson, Andrew S. W. Thomas, Charles J. Camarda, Wendy B. Lawrence, and Soichi Noguchi [representing the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)] -- are donning a flight patch that features seven stars in honor of their fallen colleagues. Columbia disintegrated 40 miles over Texas in on February 1, 2003, killing commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, pilot, payload commander Michael P. Anderson, and mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel B. Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Commission concluded that Columbia's wing had been damaged by foam insulation falling on liftoff and hitting the leading edge of the orbiter's left wing. On return 16 days later, hot atmospheric gases ripped into the breach and the spacecraft broke apart. In the wake of that disaster, NASA has spent more than $1 billion on safety upgrades to the remaining fleet of three space shuttles, and the agency management has struggled to change what the investigators termed a "broken safety culture" that was too dismissive of risk, and lacking in open and frank communication lines from the trenches. While NASA has been unable to meet all of the recommendations made by the CAIB Commission, there have been a number of engineering safety improvements made to the remaining shuttles. Discovery, for example, now features a redesigned external tank, a bounty of new sensors, and a boom that will allow astronauts to inspect the shuttle for any potential damage. During the STS-114 mission, crewmembers Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi will venture outside Discovery three times on space walks to demonstrate new repair techniques on the protective tiles, known as the Thermal Protection System; to replace a failed Control Moment Gyroscope that helps keep the station oriented properly; and to install the External Stowage Platform, a type of 'space shelf' for holding spare parts during ISS construction. The STS-114 mission will also be the third trip of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) named 'Raffaello' to the station. This module is, basically, a moving van that will transport supplies to the orbital outpost. The return to space was initially set for July 13, but one of the ship's hydrogen fuel-level sensors glitched and the launch was scrubbed about 3.5 hours before liftoff for a couple of weeks as engineers searched for the cause. Although the typical Florida weather this time of year, including rain storms and a potential launch threat from electrified anvil clouds, was a concern, it proved not to be an issue today at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) spaceport, and the launch of the aged shuttle put America back into space. |
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