Discovery liftoff: debris falls from fuel tank

[Guest Glenn]

Source: smh.com.au

 

The Discovery shuttle rocketed seven astronauts into orbit on a pivotal mission for US space ambitions amid persistent concerns about safety since the 2003 Columbia tragedy.

 

"Discovery, straight as an arrow" on its way to the International Space Station (ISS), which it will meet on Thursday, said launch commentator Bruce Buckingham.

 

However, a NASA official said that up to six pieces of debris that could be foam insulation fell off Discovery's troublesome external fuel tank shortly after liftoff.

 

"About two minutes and 47 seconds give or take (after the launch), we saw three perhaps four pieces come off," said shuttle program manager Wayne Hale, adding that it was unclear whether it was foam or "something else".

 

"We also saw another piece or two come off at about four minutes 50 seconds," he told reporters at the Kennedy Space Centre.

 

NASA employees at the Kennedy Space Centre's launch control centre applauded and hugged each other as ground control announced the shuttle had reached orbit about nine minutes after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida under blue skies.

 

NASA cleared the mission despite finding a small crack in foam insulation on the shuttle's external fuel tank on the eve of the launch. Officials said the fissure posed no threat to the shuttle.

 

The shuttle finally blasted off on time, at 2.38pm (0438 Wednesday AEST) in a spectacular cloud of smoke on the US Independence Day, after two weekend launch attempts were scuttled by concerns over lightning-producing clouds.

 

Discovery jettisoned its two rocket boosters two minutes into the flight and split from the fuel tank as it reached orbit some nine minutes after blastoff.

 

"I cannot think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July and on Independence Day to begin to launch," Commander Steven Lindsey said just before the final countdown.

 

"We hope that very soon we give you an up-close-and-personal look of 'the rockets red glare'," Lindsey said, quoting the US national anthem.

 

The two female and five male astronauts smiled broadly before boarding the shuttle, waving small American flags as they headed to the bus that took them to the launch pad before the first ever Independence Day liftoff.

 

The second shuttle mission to the ISS since the Columbia disaster will show whether modifications made to the fuel tank have succeeded.

 

Columbia was doomed by a piece of foam insulation that came loose and pierced its heat shield during liftoff, causing the shuttle to break apart into a ball of fire as it returned to Earth on February 1, 2003. Seven astronauts died.