- http://www.theregister.com/2005/07/01/nasa_shuttle_to_fly/
1st July 2005
"NASA has set the date for the Shuttle's launch, despite suggestions from an independent safety panel earlier this week that all the safety requirements have not yet been met. Discovery is now slated to take to the skies on 13 July, commanded by Eileen Collins. Chief administrator Michael Griffin said that the space agency had come to the decision after "a vigorous, healthy discussion", adding that while improvements to safety have been made since the loss of Columbia, people need to remember that space flight is an inherently risky business. The panel concluded on Monday this week that NASA had only partly complied with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendations, although it commended its efforts. Specifically, the panel said NASA had only met 12 of the 15 recommendations of the CIAB. It said the three NASA had not met were the most fundamentally important, including one that the external tank be fixed so that debris could not fall and damage any part of the shuttle before take-off…"
- http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle….-SHUTTLE-DC.XML
"…If Discovery is damaged and cannot return to Earth, NASA's plan is to harbor the astronauts at the International Space Station until Atlantis can be launched on a rescue mission…"
- http://www.theregister.com/2005/07/08/hurr…enaces_shuttle/
8 July 2005
"…The Shuttle would need to be in the safety of the hangar, four miles from the launch pad, before winds reach 46mph, NASA said. Currently, (Hurricane) Dennis is moving air around at about 135mph. It will not be a total disaster if the launch is delayed. The current launch window is open until 31 July, so there is plenty of time for another attempt."
NASA halts shuttle countdown
- http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle….-SHUTTLE-DC.XML
Jul 15, 2005
" CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA on Friday put shuttle Discovery's launch on temporary hold while engineers continued their search for the cause of a fault that forced the U.S. space agency to postpone the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia accident. Early on Friday, technicians removed propellants from the shuttle's onboard power generators, NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said. That would rule out a launch attempt this weekend, added NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham…"
- http://www.theregister.com/2005/07/26/shuttle_lifts_off/
26th July 2005
"The Shuttle Discovery successfully blasted off from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Centre, at 10:39am local time, 15:39 BST, today. It is the first Shuttle to do so since the loss of the Columbia in 2003. NASA TV followed the flight from the ground as the Shuttle rose from the launch pad, and dwindled to a bright spot in the sky. Once the twin solid rockets, were successfully separated, the coverage switched to an on board camera (fixed to the external fuel tank) which followed the spacecraft up into orbit. Anyone watching could see the Earth's horizon becoming more and more curved, until eventually Discovery separated from the external fuel tanks at nearly 100 miles above the Earth. Shuttle Discovery will remain in orbit for 12 days, where it will deliver much needed supplies to the International Space Station. It is scheduled to land back at the Kennedy Space Centre on 7 August."
NASA grounds shuttle fleet
- http://news.com.com/NASA+grounds+shuttle+f…_3-5807573.html
July 27, 2005
"NASA halted future shuttle flights on Wednesday after learning that a large chunk of insulating foam broke off Discovery's external fuel tank during launch, an echo of the problem that doomed sister ship Columbia and its crew two and a half years ago. The falling debris does not appear to have hit or damaged Discovery, which took off Tuesday on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station, the agency said. But NASA said it would launch no more shuttle flights until its engineers could review the problem of debris falling off during blastoff…NASA expects to know by Thursday whether engineers want additional inspections with the shuttle's new laser-scanning boom to assure Discovery is in good shape to return to Earth at the end of its 12-day flight. Preliminary images found that part of a tile, a component of the shuttle's heat shield, also broke off from the area around the shuttle's nose wheel landing gear door…"
Yeah thou the bad thing about all that is.. Its just to much info now. I just seen on TV not even an hour ago and they admited to having to much info to deal with and people should not jump to anything. The pc that fell off clearly didnt even hit the shuttle. Things have been falling off it since it was new. And they know about it. The pics they have show damage, but they also said its what they thought would happen and whats been going on.. So now they run there tests and take more pics and all things will be fine. Depending on the size of the damage they will fix it and come home, if they cant fix it they wait for the next shuttle to come get them or hitch a ride home with Russia.. And just now on the news they just said that the damage wasnt that big and so far things look good, but admit to having to wait for more pics…
Discovery crew may have to repair shuttle
- http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle….-SHUTTLE-DC.XML
Sun July 31, 2005
" HOUSTON (Reuters) - NASA is trying to determine if two bits of material sticking up from the shuttle Discovery's thermal tiles present an unacceptable risk of overheating when the shuttle returns to Earth, the flight director said on Sunday. The space agency is working on plans for spacewalkers to fix the parts if engineers decide they pose a threat to the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia accident, said Flight Director Paul Hill. NASA managers already have deemed 90 percent of Discovery's heat shield able to withstand the tremendous forces and high heat of atmospheric re-entry on Aug. 8. But NASA has discovered two protruding gap fillers, which is material used to fill any minute gaps between heat shield tiles. A decision about whether the crew will be asked to fix them is expected on Monday, Hill said…"
NASA orders risky spacewalk to repair heat shield
- http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle….-SHUTTLE-DC.XML
Aug 1, 2005 8:42 PM ET
"HOUSTON (Reuters) - Determined not to lose another space shuttle and crew, NASA on Monday decided to send one of Discovery's astronauts on a risky spacewalk to the ship's fragile underside to smooth protruding fibers in the heat shield. The task of removing protruding material from the space shuttle that could theoretically generate dangerous heat on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere will be added to a third previously scheduled spacewalk on Wednesday… "There is no situation in space that you can't make worse," Hale said, quoting former astronaut and long-time NASA safety advocate John Young. "The risk (of additional damage) is going to be mitigated and controlled." In the shuttle's 24-year history, spacewalking astronauts have never worked on the shuttle's belly before. Out of direct sight from the shuttle and space station crews and working solo from a platform on the station's robot arm, Robinson will first try to gently pull out the protruding material. It that fails, he will try to cut it with a modified hacksaw."
Unprecedented Shuttle Repair a Success
- http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050803/D8BOFQ180.html
Aug 3, 2005
"SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - A spacewalking astronaut gently pulled two potentially dangerous strips of protruding filler from Discovery's tile belly with his gloved hand Wednesday, successfully completing an unprecedented emergency repair. Astronaut Stephen Robinson said both pieces came out easily during the spacewalk, which lasted six hours. He did not have to use a makeshift hacksaw put together in orbit that he brought along just in case. "That came out very easily, probably even less force," Robinson said of the second piece. "I don't see any more gap filler. … I'm doing my own inspection here. It is a very nice orbital belly"…"
