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Posts with tag: spaceshuttle | Return to ScienceNewsBlog.com Homepage
NASA Halts Future Shuttle Missions
The BBC reports that NASA has halted future shuttle flights after footage showed foam falling from Discovery's external tank. Discovery did a
back-flip so the belly of Discovery could be examined to
check for damage to any of the important heatshield tiles. The BBC
said that two heatshield tiles on Discovery appear to be broken.
However, MSNBC reports that NASA astronaut John Phillips was not alarmed:
"Neither of us saw anything really alarming," station astronaut John Phillips
told NASA mission control.
The BBC reports that shuttles will be grounded until the foam issue is resolved.
Until the foam issue can be fixed, shuttles will not lift-off, Nasa says.
Tuesday's shedding foam is not thought to have hit Discovery, but two heatshield tiles do appear to be broken underneath the vehicle.
However, the first reports of the ISS investigation indicated there were no major areas of damage to contend with.
It was a suitcase-sized piece of foam that fell off the Columbia shuttle
during its launch and punched a hole in the wing.
Yesterday, Pictures showing debris falling off
the shuttle concerned people inside and outside of NASA.
Posted on July 28, 2005
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Discovery Space Shuttle Now in Orbit
The Discovery Space Shuttle is now in orbit after a successful launch. This is the first space shuttle mission in over two and a half years.
Solid Rocket Booster separation was triggered 2-minutes and 5-seconds into the flight after burnout of the putty-like fuel packed inside each rocket. The firing of explosive bolts freed the twin boosters from the side of the External Tank, allowing them to peel away from the Space Shuttle. Parachutes were then automatically deployed from the boosters, allowing them to slowly descend into the Atlantic Ocean where they will be towed back to shore.
A countdown of the launch can be found here on NASA's website. And this page provides information about the STS-114 crew and mission.
Posted on July 26, 2005
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Space Shuttle Launch Date of July 13th Announced
NASA has selected July 13th as the next launch date for the Discovery space shuttle. It will be the first launch the Columbia disaster in February 2003. The BBC reportsthat the shuttle is safe despite meeting 3 of the recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investingation Board:
Earlier this week, a panel monitoring Nasa said the agency had failed to meet three of 15 recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (Caib) for the safe resumption of shuttle flights.
But Nasa Administrator Michael Griffin said Discovery was fit for launch.
"Based on a very thorough and very successful flight readiness review, we're currently 'go' for launch of Discovery on 13 July," he announced.
A NASA press release also has the following comments about the new Space Shuttle mission from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin:
"After a vigorous, healthy discussion our team has come to a decision: we're ready to go," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the meeting. "The past two and half years have resulted in significant improvements that have greatly reduced the risk of flying the Shuttle. But we should never lose sight of the fact that space flight is risky.
"The Discovery mission, designated STS-114, is a test flight," Griffin said, noting that astronauts will try out a host of new Space Shuttle safety enhancements. In addition, Discovery will carry 15 tons of supplies and replacement hardware to the International Space Station. July 13 is the beginning of three weeks of possible launch days that run through July 31.
More about NASA's return to flight can be found here.
Posted on July 1, 2005
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