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July 27, 2005 On Sunday, August 7, space shuttle Discovery will reenter the atmosphere after its 12-day mission, its first flight since August of 2001 and the first mission since the Columbia disaster in 2003. If the engineers have done their job, the oldest member of the shuttle fleet will roll to a stop before a cheering throng on the sun-kissed coast of Florida. For now, the world waits. At 10:39 AM on Tuesday, July 26, Discovery started the third era of shuttle flight, lifting off from Launch Complex 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center and reaching orbit in less than nine minutes. For the first time in history, video cameras captured the separation of the giant rust-red liquid fuel tank, the same type of tank from which insulating foam shed and mortally struck Discovery’s older sister. Columbia and her seven-person crew perished when superheated gas flooded the wing, and tore it apart, two months shy of the twenty-second anniversary of its first flight. Right now, NASA waits. Despite the picture-perfect liftoff, concern has already rooted itself over debris shown falling off the vehicle during the ascent. Engineers are analyzing the video footage and will know in a few days if Discovery’s crew may have to perform repairs on their ship. The crew of the International Space Station is waiting, too. On Thursday morning, at 7:18 AM Eastern Time, Discovery will rendezvous and dock with the station. It will be the first shuttle visit to the station since December 2002, when the shuttle Endeavour made the last successful shuttle flight of the series. Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev and flight engineer John Phillips, ferried to the station by a smaller but durable Soyuz capsule back in April, will get supplies and equipment from their comrades, including a new gyroscope to help keep the station stable. Just as the Challenger disaster conditioned us to tense up when the main engines throttle up during ascent, we will now tense up when Mission Control announces loss of signal, the chronologically short but painfully long few minutes when red-hot plasma shields Discovery from radio waves as it makes its way home. Only when Discovery hits the ground will the world breathe a collective sigh of relief, as crew and vehicle celebrate a triumphant return home. Until then, the world waits. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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