NASA hopes space programme back on track

HOUSTON – Astronauts on the shuttle Discovery awoke to their first full day in space yesterday and prepared to inspect their orbiter for damage after launching from Florida on a flight NASA hopes will get the troubled US space programme back on track.

Photos and videos from Tuesday’s Fourth of July takeoff showed flecks of insulating foam flying off the shuttle’s problem-plagued fuel tank after launch, but NASA executives said initial examinations revealed no cause for alarm. The shuttle crew was to spend most of Wednesday using a robot arm to scan Discovery’s most vulnerable parts with lasers and close-up cameras to see if the loose foam caused any nicks to the spacecraft’s protective heat shield.A 756 gram chunk of fuel tank foam was blamed for the Columbia disaster in 2003 after it slammed into the shuttle’s wing at launch and later caused the orbiter to break apart over Texas, killing the seven astronauts on board.Potentially dangerous foam also flew off on a subsequent shuttle mission last summer, raising questions about whether the spacecraft NASA has flown since 1981 could still be operated safely enough to finish the half-completed US$100 billion International Space Station.NASA spent US$1,3 billion over the last three years to fix the fuel tank and make safety upgrades to the shuttle.NASA managers had warned that the tank, covered with more than 1,818 kilogrammes of foam, would continue to shed debris, but expected no pieces large enough to damage the shuttle in case of impact.Shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale said with one possible exception the foam pieces spotted on Tuesday were small, and only one appeared to strike the spacecraft.But he said the foam shook loose late enough in the launch that it appeared not to pose a danger because it hit with little force.”I think the tank performed very, very well indeed, very pleased,” Hale said.The agency needs a successful mission to resume space station construction, which has been on hold since the Columbia accident and will require 16 shuttle flights to complete.Another accident or serious problem could ground the shuttle fleet permanently before its planned retirement in 2010.Discovery is scheduled to link up with the space station on Thursday.The shuttle’s 12-day mission is meant to test fuel tank repairs and deliver badly needed supplies and equipment to the space station.The astronauts will make two spacewalks.One will test a 15-metre extension to the shuttle’s robot arm.Crews use the boom to inspect the ship for damage but NASA wants to know if it could be used to manoeuvre spacewalkers to inaccessible parts of the shuttle for repairs.During the second spacewalk, astronauts Piers Sellers, a British-born climate scientist, and Michael Fossum, an American making his first spaceflight, will try to fix the space station’s broken mobile transporter.The transporter, a cart that travels on tracks on the outside of the space station, will be needed to install trusses and solar arrays on the space station.It has been broken since December.A third spacewalk to test shuttle repair techniques will be performed if Discovery has enough fuel to extend the mission for a day.Damage to Columbia at launch went undetected until it disintegrated 16 days later as it flew back into the atmosphere from space.Superheated gases entered the breach in a wing heat shield and caused the spacecraft’s destruction.- Nampa-Reuters Shuttle key dates April 12, 1981 – The first launch of a space shuttle takes place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Space shuttle Columbia, with two crew members on board, orbits the earth 36 times before returning on April 14.June 18-24, 1983 – Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space aboard space shuttle Challenger.April 6-13, 1984 – Challenger astronauts carry out the first retrieval and repair of a satellite in space.January 28, 1986 – Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven astronauts on board, and forcing a suspension of the space shuttle programme.Investigations reveal the disaster was caused by the failure of an O-ring seal on a solid rocket booster.September 29, 1988 – The launch of Discovery marks the return to flight of NASA space shuttles after the Challenger tragedy.April 24, 1990 – Discovery is launched to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.December 2-13, 1993 – Space shuttle Endeavour transports astronauts who successfully repair the Hubble Space Telescope.June 29, 1995 – Atlantis becomes the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.October 29-Nov.7, 1998 – John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, returns to space on board Discovery.At age 77, he becomes the oldest man in space.February 1, 2003 – Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas during re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.The accident was caused by wing damage from debris that fell from the shuttle’s external fuel tank at launch.July 26, 2005 – Space shuttle Discovery blasts off from Cape Canaveral in the first shuttle mission since Columbia was destroyed and the 114th since the programme began.July 27, 2005 – NASA grounds the shuttle fleet again after learning that large chunks of insulating foam fell from Discovery’s external fuel tank during launch, the same problem that led to the Columbia disaster.May 31, 2006 – Shuttle Discovery, slated to launch in July, passes critical test of a redesigned fuel tank, meant to reduce risks of a Columbia-style disaster.June 17, 2006 – NASA managers clear shuttle Discovery for launch on July 1, over the objections of the agency’s top safety officer and its lead engineer.At issue is whether additional modifications to the shuttle’s fuel tank are necessary before flights resume.June 21, 2006 – NASA’s top safety manager says he won’t appeal a decision to clear Discovery for July 1 liftoff, even though he has nagging concerns about the spacecraft’s safety.- Nampa-ReutersThe shuttle crew was to spend most of Wednesday using a robot arm to scan Discovery’s most vulnerable parts with lasers and close-up cameras to see if the loose foam caused any nicks to the spacecraft’s protective heat shield.A 756 gram chunk of fuel tank foam was blamed for the Columbia disaster in 2003 after it slammed into the shuttle’s wing at launch and later caused the orbiter to break apart over Texas, killing the seven astronauts on board.Potentially dangerous foam also flew off on a subsequent shuttle mission last summer, raising questions about whether the spacecraft NASA has flown since 1981 could still be operated safely enough to finish the half-completed US$100 billion International Space Station.NASA spent US$1,3 billion over the last three years to fix the fuel tank and make safety upgrades to the shuttle.NASA managers had warned that the tank, covered with more than 1,818 kilogrammes of foam, would continue to shed debris, but expected no pieces large enough to damage the shuttle in case of impact.Shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale said with one possible exception the foam pieces spotted on Tuesday were small, and only one appeared to strike the spacecraft.But he said the foam shook loose late enough in the launch that it appeared not to pose a danger because it hit with little force.”I think the tank performed very, very well indeed, very pleased,” Hale said.The agency needs a successful mission to resume space station construction, which has been on hold since the Columbia accident and will require 16 shuttle flights to complete.Another accident or serious problem could ground the shuttle fleet permanently before its planned retirement in 2010.Discovery is scheduled to link up with the space station on Thursday.The shuttle’s 12-day mission is meant to test fuel tank repairs and deliver badly needed supplies and equipment to the space station.The astronauts will make two spacewalks.One will test a 15-metre extension to the shuttle’s robot arm.Crews use the boom to inspect the ship for damage but NASA wants to know if it could be used to manoeuvre spacewalkers to inaccessible parts of the shuttle for repairs.During
the second spacewalk, astronauts Piers Sellers, a British-born climate scientist, and Michael Fossum, an American making his first spaceflight, will try to fix the space station’s broken mobile transporter.The transporter, a cart that travels on tracks on the outside of the space station, will be needed to install trusses and solar arrays on the space station.It has been broken since December.A third spacewalk to test shuttle repair techniques will be performed if Discovery has enough fuel to extend the mission for a day.Damage to Columbia at launch went undetected until it disintegrated 16 days later as it flew back into the atmosphere from space.Superheated gases entered the breach in a wing heat shield and caused the spacecraft’s destruction.- Nampa-Reuters Shuttle key dates April 12, 1981 – The first launch of a space shuttle takes place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Space shuttle Columbia, with two crew members on board, orbits the earth 36 times before returning on April 14.June 18-24, 1983 – Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space aboard space shuttle Challenger.April 6-13, 1984 – Challenger astronauts carry out the first retrieval and repair of a satellite in space.January 28, 1986 – Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven astronauts on board, and forcing a suspension of the space shuttle programme.Investigations reveal the disaster was caused by the failure of an O-ring seal on a solid rocket booster.September 29, 1988 – The launch of Discovery marks the return to flight of NASA space shuttles after the Challenger tragedy.April 24, 1990 – Discovery is launched to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.December 2-13, 1993 – Space shuttle Endeavour transports astronauts who successfully repair the Hubble Space Telescope.June 29, 1995 – Atlantis becomes the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.October 29-Nov.7, 1998 – John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, returns to space on board Discovery.At age 77, he becomes the oldest man in space.February 1, 2003 – Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas during re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.The accident was caused by wing damage from debris that fell from the shuttle’s external fuel tank at launch.July 26, 2005 – Space shuttle Discovery blasts off from Cape Canaveral in the first shuttle mission since Columbia was destroyed and the 114th since the programme began.July 27, 2005 – NASA grounds the shuttle fleet again after learning that large chunks of insulating foam fell from Discovery’s external fuel tank during launch, the same problem that led to the Columbia disaster.May 31, 2006 – Shuttle Discovery, slated to launch in July, passes critical test of a redesigned fuel tank, meant to reduce risks of a Columbia-style disaster.June 17, 2006 – NASA managers clear shuttle Discovery for launch on July 1, over the objections of the agency’s top safety officer and its lead engineer.At issue is whether additional modifications to the shuttle’s fuel tank are necessary before flights resume.June 21, 2006 – NASA’s top safety manager says he won’t appeal a decision to clear Discovery for July 1 liftoff, even though he has nagging concerns about the spacecraft’s safety.- Nampa-Reuters