Space shuttle Discovery lifted off earlier this afternoon on what is expected to be an 11-day final mission. Officially it lifted off at 4:53 p.m. EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew that is making the 35th mission to the International Space Station is Commander Steven W. Lindsey, Pilot Eric A. Boe, and Mission Specialists Michael R. Barratt, Stephen G. Bowen, Nicole P. Scott, and Alvin Drew.
Mission Insignia |
Here's where it gets interesting. While Discovery is headed for the Smithsonian, United Space Alliance has proposed to launch both Endeavor and Atlantis once per year for an additional 7 years. While doing so as a commercial endeavor could eliminate the need for US astronauts to rely on Russian spacecraft, it seems to me that there is a glaring safety issue at hand. Not only has NASA been unable to convince the government that they are safe, but even this last liftoff there is foam that reportedly fell off the Discovery after liftoff. While I understand the idea from a business standpoint, offer a service that no one else can, I'm just hoping that someone has overlooked and downplayed the need for an extreme cautionary need when it comes to the safety of those flying the space shuttles.
DISCOVERY'S NUMBERS (Prior to STS-133) |
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Total miles traveled: 142,917,535 |
Total time in orbit: 8,441 hours, 50 minutes, 41 seconds |
Total orbits: 5,628 |
Total flights: 38 |
Total crew members: 246 |
Mir dockings: 1 |
International Space Station dockings: 12 |
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