When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, searing hot gases seeped into the wing and incinerated the spacecraft.Both the Discovery and Atlantis missions will be test flights to the international space station to demonstrate the shuttle is once again safe to fly.Three suicide bombings and a mortar attack killed at least five people in Iraq today. At least 62 others were wounded in a wave of insurgent attacks. The violence coincides with the climax of Ashura, a major Shiite religious festivalBecause of these restrictions there are only a limited number of opportunities to launch the space shuttle. The first starts May 15 and runs through June 3, when NASA hopes to launch Discovery. The second window opens July 12, when NASA hopes to launch Atlantis. Readdy admitted he hoped the techniques would be further along, but said that two years ago repairing the shuttle's thermal protection system while in flight was thought impossible.Both the Discovery and Atlantis missions will be test flights to the international space station to demonstrate the shuttle is once again safe to fly.Soloing around the globe in a plane is now "the last great aviation record left inside the Earth's atmosphere," Branson said when the mission was announced in 2003.Discovery and Atlantis will be so-called rescue shuttles for each other should something go wrong. NASA has been readying both shuttles side by side.He's already proved himself to be a modern-day Magellan. In 2002, Fossett became the first solo balloonist to circle the globe nonstop, despite an on-board fire and dangerous winds. Two years later, he and his crew made the fastest circumnavigation on a sailing ship -- 58 days.NASA has been developing repair techniques for the space shuttle's thermal protection system for the past two years. Not all of the techniques have panned out and the Discovery crew will be testing only three potential fixes for tile instead of the five originally planned. There will be no tests on repair techniques for the reinforced carbon used on the shuttle's wings, where the hole was created in Columbia.When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, searing hot gases seeped into the wing and incinerated the spacecraft.The prize was offered to the first manned flight to return safely from two trips 62 miles (100 km) high into suborbital space.In addition, NASA imposed its own restrictions, including limiting launches to daylight hours -- at least for the first two test flights -- so that any falling debris from the external tank could be seen and investigated before the shuttle tried to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA will also require the first two shuttles to go to the international space station so that if there were irreparable damage, the astronauts could wait there for another shuttle to get them.Three suicide bombings and a mortar attack killed at least five people in Iraq today. At least 62 others were wounded in a wave of insurgent attacks. The violence coincides with the climax of Ashura, a major Shiite religious festivalAlso, NASA has stated there will be no repair technique for a hole the size of the one that caused Columbia's demise. Instead, the agency has focused on stopping foam from shedding from the external tank so no hole will be created in the first place.NASA said Discovery's launch is to be followed by a July 12 Atlantis launch.NASA has been developing repair techniques for the space shuttle's thermal protection system for the past two years. Not all of the techniques have panned out and the Discovery crew will be testing only three potential fixes for tile instead of the five originally planned. There will be no tests on repair techniques for the reinforced carbon used on the shuttle's wings, where the hole was created in Columbia.NASA said Discovery's launch is to be followed by a July 12 Atlantis launch.Discovery and Atlantis will be so-called rescue shuttles for each other should something go wrong. NASA has been readying both shuttles side by side.
| Yahoo! Groups Sponsor | |
|
|
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iklan-mini/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
