FinancialAdvisor's College Class (FACC)

[FinancialAdvisor]

NASA launches first space shuttle mission since '03


The space shuttle Discovery lifts off from pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 26, 2005. A crew of seven astronauts is aboard the craft bound for the International Space Station. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

NASA launches first space shuttle mission since '03
Tue Jul 26, 2005 4:04 PM BST
By Irene Klotz and Michael Christie

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Discovery blasted off from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday on NASA's first shuttle mission since Columbia broke up in 2003.

The shuttle, carrying seven crew members, soared into slightly hazy skies, leaving behind a trail of smoke and flames, while the roar of its solid booster rockets rattled windows and shook the ground across the Cape.

It was NASA's second attempt to launch the shuttle this month. Problems with hydrogen fuel sensors that forced the space agency to cancel the first liftoff attempt on July 13 did not reoccur.

"On behalf of the many millions of people who believe so deeply in what we do, good luck, God speed and have a little fun up there," NASA launch director Mike Leinbach told the crew a few minutes before liftoff.

The booster rockets, pouring out 6.5 million pounds (3 million kg) of thrust and enough energy to light 87,000 homes for a day, separated without problem just over 2 minutes into flight, NASA's launch commentator James Hartsfield said.

Nearly nine minutes after launch, the shuttle successfully reached its planned preliminary orbit and cut off its three main engines.

The shuttle's mission, under veteran commander Eileen Collins, is to test new safety and repair measures introduced after sister ship Columbia disintegrated over Texas on February1, 2003.

Falling foam had knocked a hole in Columbia's wing on liftoff 16 days earlier, and the superheated gases generated by the spacecraft's re-entry into the atmosphere tore into the breach. All seven crew members were killed.

The U.S. space agency has spent more than $1 billion (574 million pounds) designing new safety measures to reduce the threat of falling debris, detect damage and repair the ship's heat shield in space.

Discovery also will deliver much-needed supplies and equipment to the International Space Station, whose construction has been on hold for the past 2-1/2 years because the shuttle is the only vehicle capable of carrying large parts to the station.


LINK: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-26T150400Z_01_KWA6...