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NASA analysts weigh data before clearing space shuttle for trip home

by Laurent Thomet
Houston, Texas (AFP) Jul 15, 2006
=+PICTURE)= ATTENTION -, UPDATES with left wing cleared /// Discovery's astronauts scanned the space shuttle's heat shield for potential micrometeorite impacts on Saturday and waited for analysts to give them the green light to fly home.

The crew used Discovery's robotic arm to survey the right wing and nose cap after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). A day earlier, they filmed the shuttle's left wing.

"The left wing was completely cleared," deputy shuttle program manager John Shannon told reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

NASA will announce Sunday whether Discovery's six astronauts can fly home on Monday as analysts were still poring over the images of the right wing and nose cap, Shannon said.

"Right now they don't see anything of concern at all, but I'll get the final word tomorrow morning," he said.

Earlier, Discovery pilot Mark Kelly guided the shuttle away from the ISS after an intense nine-day stay that included three successful spacewalks aimed at improving shuttle safety and resuming construction of the orbiting laboratory.

"Have a safe journey back, soft landing and we'll see you on the ground in a few months," ISS flight engineer Jeffrey Williams told Discovery's crew.

The late inspection for space debris hits, a first for shuttle missions, was added to Discovery's schedule as part of NASA efforts to dramatically improve safety three years after the Columbia shuttle disaster.

Discovery remained relatively close to the ISS so it can return to the station if serious damage is found.

The shuttle has already been declared free of damage that could have been caused by debris during the July 4 liftoff, just the second launch since the Columbia accident.

Columbia's heat shield was damaged by foam insulation that peeled off its external fuel tank during blastoff, causing it to break apart as it returned to Earth in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.

Discovery's fuel tank shed a small amount of foam, which did not damage the shuttle.

Discovery is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. But it could land at an air force base in California in the event of bad weather in Florida.

NASA has found a tiny leak in one of the shuttle's three auxiliary power units (APU) that power the hydraulic systems operating the rudder and landing gear.

Officials said the shuttle could land with just two APUs, if necessary.

The two shuttle flights undertaken since the Columbia accident have been aimed at improving space flight safety before NASA resumes regular launches to finish building the ISS by 2010, when the three-shuttle fleet will be retired.

NASA says the ISS is a key part of US ambitions to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually send the first manned mission to Mars.

Astronauts Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers successfully performed three key spacewalks, spending more than 21 hours outside to test shuttle repair techniques and fix equipment critical to the construction of the ISS.

Discovery also delivered more than three tonnes of clothes, food and research equipment to the ISS and will bring back about two tonnes of trash and broken equipment from the orbiting laboratory.

The shuttle also brought European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany to the ISS for a six-month mission.

"I can't think of a better mission in recent history," ISS program manager Mike Suffredini said. "It was an outstanding effort by both the shuttle and station teams. We are very proud."

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The Eagle has broken - first men on Moon used pen to fix lander: report
London (AFP) Jul 24, 2006
The first men on the Moon had to use a pen to fix a broken switch on their lunar module and return home to Earth, British newspaper the Daily Mirror reported Monday ahead of a new television documentary.







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