Space shuttle Discovery docks with International Space Station
After several delays and a wait of over a year, the space shuttle Discovery took off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on 4 July 2006. Now Discovery has reached its destination – the International Space Station (ISS) – where astronauts will spend the next few days checking the orbiter for any damage that took place during the ascent to orbit.
As well as being a matter of American national pride, this mission is crucial to the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). The $100 billion project can only be completed with the use of the shuttles Discovery and Atlantis, as these vehicles are large enough to carry the remaining ISS modules into orbit.
In February 2003 the shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the last few minutes of its return to Earth, killing all seven astronauts on board. The tragedy was eventually attributed to a large piece of foam that fell from near the fuel tank and struck the shuttle wing after takeoff. In July 2005 the Discovery ‘return to flight’ mission was successful but engineers noticed more foam strikes so grounded the shuttle fleet for a further year.
For this mission, Discovery has had extensive modifications to the foam that sits around the fuel tank and lines, in an effort to prevent further problems. Small pieces of foam did come off during Monday’s launch, but at the moment these do not appear to have struck the orbiter. Astronauts will carry out a range of inspection procedures to ensure that the shuttle can safely return to Earth the week after next.
Discovery is also carrying supplies and equipment for the ISS. One of the crewmembers – German astronaut Thomas Reiter – will be staying on the ISS for a six-month stint. Reiter is the first European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut to stay on the ISS for an extended period.
If all goes to plan, Discovery will return to Earth on 16 July 2006. The sister shuttle Atlantis will then restart the assembly of the ISS in a flight in late August. The ISS construction will need a further 16 flights of both spacecraft until the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.
