This story was updated at 12:09 p.m. EDT.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA’s
shuttle Discovery and its seven-astronaut crew launched into orbit Tuesday with
a thunderous roar on an ambitious mission to add a new orbital room to the
International Space Station (ISS).
Commanded be veteran shuttle flyer
Pamela Melroy, Discovery’s STS-120 crew
rocketed into space from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center here at 11:38 a.m.
EDT (1538 GMT), despite an iffy weather forecast of rain showers and ice
build-up on the shuttle’s external fuel tank. Tucked in the orbiter’s
payload bay was Harmony—a cylindrical module that will anchor future
international laboratories to the space station.
“Liftoff of Discovery,
hoisting Harmony to the heavens,” launch commentator Mike Curie said as
the shuttle climbed toward space.
Riding spaceward with Melroy were shuttle pilot George Zamka
and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie
Wilson, Douglas Wheelock, Daniel Tani and Italian
astronaut Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency.
During their planned
14-day spaceflight, the astronauts will ferry a new crewmember to the ISS,
relocate a massive solar power tower and install Harmony.
“We're doing a lot of big
robotics as well as a lot of big things on the spacewalks,” Melroy said before launch, describing the spaceflight as an
astronaut’s dream mission. “We just got lucky.”
Making history
With the successful launch, two
female commanders are now leading their spacecraft crews in Earth orbit for
the first time: Melroy aboard Discovery, and U.S. astronaut
Peggy Whitson aboard the ISS. The two female space commanders will meet on
Thursday, when Discovery is scheduled to arrive at the space station at 8:35
a.m. EDT (1235 GMT).
“This is a real special event
for us,” Melroy said. “I think it’s
just indicative that there are enough women in the program that this can happen.”
Melroy waved to cameras before boarding
Discovery for today’s spaceflight with her crewmates holding up signs for
loved ones as the climbed inside the shuttle. Tani
held up signs to his mother, wife Jane and daughters before stepping inside
Discovery. He will stay aboard the ISS once Discovery departs to replace NASA
astronaut Clayton Anderson, who wrapping up a five-month mission aboard the
space station.
Anderson, Whitson and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko—the space station's Expedition 16 crew—watched a live broadcast of Discovery's launch to their orbital home. Anderson spun a
towel over his head and performed a weightless flip in apparent delight over the successful liftoff.
A small patch of clear ice, spotted
on liquid hydrogen umbilical line near the aft end of Discovery and its fuel
tank, did cause some concern for today’s liftoff. Launch controllers were
concerned that the ice could break off during launch
and damage Discovery’s fragile heat shield.
NASA has kept a close watch on fuel
tank launch debris and the health of its shuttle heat shields since the 2003 Columbia accident.
Today’s launch marked
NASA’s 120th shuttle flight to date and the third this year dedicated to
space station construction. The successful liftoff kicked off Discovery’s
34th spaceflight and NASA’s 23rd shuttle mission to the ISS.
Busy mission begins
Discovery’s STS-120 crew has a
busy two weeks of orbital construction ahead highlighted by the planned Friday
delivery of the Italian-built Harmony node to the ISS.
With its five attachment points,
Harmony will serve as a hub to join the European Space Agency’s Columbus module and Japan’s Kibo
laboratory to the ISS.
The node was named by
students from six different classrooms, ranging from elementary grades to
high school, across the U.S.
in a NASA contest. About 150 of those students watched
Discovery rocket spaceward from Banana Creek near Kennedy Space
Center.
“I like the floaty part,” eight-year-old Margaret Brackey, whose World Group Home School class spent five
weeks building a Harmony module for the contest, told SPACE.com of her
interest in spaceflight. “I bet most kids would say that too.”
"Star Wars" director George
Lucas was also on hand for the launch. Tucked amongst Discovery’s cargo
is an original
prop lightsaber for Luke Skywalker, which rode to
space as part of the 30th anniversary of the film’s 1977 premiere.
Discovery’s crew will also
relocate a massive solar power tower, the 17.5-ton Port 6 truss segment, from
its mast-like perch atop the station’s Unity node to the outpost’s
port-most edge. The tricky maneuver will require a pair of spacewalks and
complex coordination using robotic arms aboard the ISS and Discovery to
complete.
Five spacewalks are planned for the
STS-120 mission to continue ISS construction and test shuttle heat shield
repair methods.
“Everyone’s in full
afterburner the whole flight,” said Parazynski.
“There’s really nobody with a free moment to spare.”
NASA is broadcasting Discovery's
STS-120 launch and mission operations live on NASA. Click here for mission updates
and NASA TV from SPACE.com.
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