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Shuttle Discovery lands safely in California
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-08-10 08:45
The space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely
on Tuesday, successfully completing NASA's troubled resumption of human space
flight 2 1/2 years after the Columbia disaster, reported Reuters.
Discovery's mission eased some of NASA's woes after the deaths of Columbia's
seven astronauts but it may also have been the last shuttle flight for some
time. The U.S. space agency grounded the shuttle fleet after Discovery shed
insulating foam at launch, the same problem that doomed Columbia.
US space shuttle Discovery Commander Eileen
Collins (L) and pilot James Kelly answer questions at a press conference
at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base,
California. [AFP] | Discovery made a fiery
re-entry into Earth's atmosphere at 17,000 mph (27,000 kph), and swooped over
the Pacific Ocean before gliding to a smooth predawn landing at Edwards Air
Force Base in California.
NASA diverted the shuttle to California after skipping four chances to land
at Discovery's home port, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, because of
menacing thunderstorms.
"Congratulations on a truly spectacular test flight," astronaut Ken Ham at
Mission Control in Houston told the Discovery crew as the shuttle stopped on the
runway. "Welcome home friends."
The shuttle Discovery sits on the runway after
a successful re-entry and landing at 7:11am CDT, at Edwards Air Force base
in California August 9,
2005.[Reuters] | Discovery's crew, Eileen Collins,
Jim Kelly, Steve Robinson, Soichi Noguchi, Andy Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and
Charlie Camarda, performed a traditional walk-around to inspect the ship after
landing. All appeared to be in good shape.
NASA accomplished its main goal for the mission -- safely launching and
landing the aging shuttle. But when chunks of insulation flew off Discovery's
fuel tank during launch, the U.S. space agency was disappointed to find it had
failed to fix the problem that led to Columbia's demise on February 1, 2003.
Space shuttle
Discovery lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California July 9, 2005.
[Reuters] | Investigators blamed Columbia's
disintegration over Texas on a large piece of insulating foam that broke off the
tank during launch and punched a hole in the orbiter's wing, allowing
superheated gases to enter as the ship returned to Earth.
For Discovery's return, NASA had commander Collins adjust the shuttle's orbit
so that it would not fly over the most heavily populated areas of Los Angeles in
case of another accident. Columbia showered Texas and Louisiana with
debris.
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