! Shuttle Discovery (American, Of Course) Blasts Off for Space Station Toilet Rescue Mission!
- From: Patriot Games <Patriot@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:03:27 -0400
http://www.newsmax.com/us/Shuttle_Discovery_/2008/05/31/100499.html
Shuttle Discovery Blasts Off for Space Station
Saturday, May 31, 2008
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven
blasted into orbit Saturday, carrying a giant Japanese lab addition to
the international space station along with something more mundane - a
toilet pump.
Discovery roared into a brilliantly blue sky dotted with a few clouds
at 5:02 p.m., right on time.
The shuttle's trip to the space station should take two days. Once
there, Discovery's crew will unload and install the $1 billion lab and
hand-deliver a specially made pump for the outpost's finicky toilet.
The school-bus-size lab, named Kibo, Japanese for hope, will be the
biggest room by far at the space station and bring the orbiting
outpost to three-quarters of completion.
"It's a gorgeous day to launch," NASA's launch director, Mike
Leinbach, told the astronauts just before liftoff, wishing them good
luck and Godspeed. Commander Mark Kelly noted that Kibo was the "hope
for the space station," then radioed: "Now stand by for the greatest
show on Earth!"
Nearly 400 Japanese journalists, space program officials and other
guests jammed NASA's launch site, their excitement growing as the
hours, then minutes counted down.
Their enthusiasm was catchy.
"This is a real milestone," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said.
The Japanese lab is 37 feet long and more than 32,000 pounds, and
fills Discovery's entire payload bay. The first part of the lab flew
up in March, and the third and final section will be launched next
year.
The entire lab, with all its pieces, cost more than $2 billion.
A large political contingent was also on hand led by Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords, D-Ariz., who's newly married to Kelly, Discovery's
commander. They invited numerous bigwigs from Arizona and Washington.
Giffords acknowledged being nervous, far more so than the day she was
elected to Congress in 2006. She gripped her mother-in-law with her
right arm and held her own mother's hand in her left as she watched
Discovery soar.
"It was pretty exciting, pretty exciting," Giffords told The
Associated Press. Although it was a smooth launch - the only problem
was the failure of a backup set of electronics for swiveling engines -
she said she wouldn't relax until the shuttle is back from its
two-week mission.
Debris - likely ice or foam insulation - could be seen falling from
the fuel tank during liftoff, but it did not appear to occur during
the crucial first two minutes. This was the first tank to have all
safety changes prompted by the 2003 Columbia disaster built in from
the start.
Kelly's brother, Scott, didn't need an invitation to the launch - he's
also a space shuttle commander. They're identical twins.
Scott Kelly said it was more nerve-racking to watch his brother launch
than to be strapped in himself. Their parents and 91-year-old
grandmother are always anxious on launch day, he said.
"I know my grandmother, she would rather I work at Wal-Mart," Scott
Kelly said, chuckling, before liftoff.
Everyone - observers and professionals alike - was relieved once
Discovery safely reached orbit. Griffin noted that NASA has enjoyed "a
number of good events" in recent days: The Phoenix Mars Lander
survived its trip to the red planet last weekend and already has sent
back pictures of what could well be ice.
"You make it look easy. I know it's not easy," Griffin told launch
controllers.
Three spacewalks are planned during Discovery's 14-day flight, to
install Kibo, replace an empty nitrogen-gas tank and try out various
cleaning methods on a clogged solar-wing rotating joint. The shuttle
crew is made up of six Americans and one Japanese.
The space station's two Russian residents, meanwhile, will put in the
new toilet pump. For more than a week, the three occupants have had to
manually flush the toilet with extra water several times a day, a
time-consuming, water-wasting job.
NASA and Russian space officials are hoping that the pump - which was
rushed to Kennedy Space Center from Moscow just this past week - gets
the toilet back in normal working order.
One of Discovery's astronauts, Gregory Chamitoff, will move into the
space station for a six-month stay. He'll replace Garrett Reisman, who
will return to Earth aboard the shuttle.
Also hitching a ride to the space station is Buzz Lightyear, who has
long been yearning to soar "to infinity and beyond." The 12-inch
action figure - made famous in the 1995 Disney film "Toy Story" - is
part of NASA's "toys in space" educational program for elementary
students and their teachers.
.
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