Discovery touches down - June 16, 2008
Space shuttle Discovery landed safely on Saturday despite the now seemingly obligatory last-minute scare*.
The day before touchdown a small metal clip was spotted floating away from the shuttle’s rudder. NASA decided it was still safe to attempt landing (BBC). The clip apparently only holds the rudder in place during launch, and isn’t needed for re-entry (Reuters).
This mission of the aging shuttle installed a massive section of a new Japanese lab onto the International Space Station and, more importantly, fixed the station’s toilet. “We’re really glad to be involved in making the space station a bigger and more capable place,” said shuttle Commander Kelly Mark (NY Times). It’s thought he was referring to the lab rather than the toilet.
The end of this mission means there are just ten shuttle voyages left before the fleet is retired. Last week the White House issued what the Houston Chronicle called an “unusually strongly worded” statement, rejecting efforts from Congress put up $2.9 billion for three extra flights.
More
NASA ‘Landing 101’
NASA landing blog
Landing videos
More photos
*The NY Times’ article ‘Concerns as Object Floats Past Shuttle’ now seems to have disappeared, and ‘No Problems Seen for Shuttle Landing’ is in its place.
Image: NASA/Kevin O'Connell,Scott Haun
