WASHINGTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the scheduled time 2:38 p.m. (1838 GMT) on Independence Day to become the second space flight after the Columbia disaster in 2003.
The
shuttle, carrying seven crew members, soared into partly cloudy Florida skies in
a thunderous blast of smoke and fire. Two minutes after launch, Discovery's
solid rocket boosters cleanly separated from the shuttle.
This is the 18th U.S. flight to the International
Space Station and the 32nd flight for Space Shuttle Discovery, and also the
first manned launch by the United States on the nation's birthday, just like "a
nice fireworks display" for America.
During the 12-day mission, the crew will test new
equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as make crucial
repairs to the station. At least two spacewalks are planned.
One crew member Thomas Reiter, the astronaut from the
European Space Agency, will remain with Expedition 13 crew on the station for a
six-month stay. In Discovery's payload bay, the multi-purpose logistics module
Leonardo, built by the Italian Space Agency, will deliver supplies, equipment
and tools on its fourth trip to the station.
Two prior launch attempts, on Saturday and Sunday,
were postponed due to storm clouds. And some technical problems sprung up before
Tuesday's liftoff, including a crack found on external fuel tank and a foam that
came off from the crack, but after a series of data analyses, NASA decided to go
ahead with sending the shuttle into space. Enditem
Discovery's external tank performs well: NASA
WASHINGTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Space Shuttle
Program manager Wayne Hale said Tuesday that the performance of Discovery's
external tank was greatly improved.
"I have a good report," Hale said at an evening press
conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "The tank performed very, very well
indeed," he said.
Based on early analysis of photographs taken during
ascent, just a few items have been identified for further study. Some involve
debris particles shed by the massive orange tank. The particles observed are
small, and all occur after the time frame -- up to two minutes, 15 seconds into
ascent -- that engineers consider to be the most aerodynamically sensitive time
for the shuttle. Full story>>
The
seven crew members wave on their way to board the space shuttle Discovery
at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the United State,
July 4, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) |
The
crew members are on their way to board the space shuttle Discovery at the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the United State, July 4,
2006. (Xinhua Photo) |
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