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US shuttle Discovery moves to launchpad
Washington (AFP) May 19, 2006 A huge tractor Friday began moving the space shuttle Discovery toward its launchpad for a blastoff sometime between July 1 and 19, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. It will be Discovery's second mission since the February 2003 Columbia disaster. Its last trip was in July 2005. A massive tractor-vehicle carrying the shuttle started a six-hour trip at 1845 GMT, moving at less than one mile per hour (1.6 kilometer per hour) to place Discovery on launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Discovery is to carry seven astronauts, including a German from the European Space Agency, to the International Space Station (ISS). The STS-121 mission will be the second and last flight to examine safety improvements aimed at averting another calamity. Columbia's demise was blamed on a piece of foam that peeled off an external fuel tank and pierced the left wing's protective skin, causing it to burn up and disintegrate as it reentered the Earth's atmosphere. NASA modifications are aimed at minimizing the risk of foam coming off the tank. In the first flight since the Columbia disaster, a piece of foam fell off Discovery's external tank shortly after blastoff but did not strike the orbiter. NASA grounded the shuttle fleet to fix the problem. The next shuttle mission also will bring supplies to the ISS and material to finish its construction. The mission's commander is Steve Lindsey and the pilot is Mark Kelly. The other astronauts are Mike Fossum, Piers Sellers, Stephanie Wilson, Lisa Nowak and their German colleague Thomas Reiter. Reiter will remain in the ISS for several months, joining an American and a Russian counterpart. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
Deal signed on launch of first Malaysian astronaut
Moscow (AFP) May 19, 2006 Officials from Russia's arms export agency and Malaysia's defence ministry signed a contract Friday on sending a Malaysian into space for the first time to stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the arms export agency Rosoboronexport said. |
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