CAPE
CANAVERAL - The seven astronauts on board the space shuttle Discovery scanned their spacecraft's heat shield for potential damage Monday and are gearing up
for a planned Wednesday landing.
NASA
mission managers said today that they expect engineers to clear the spacecraft tomorrow
for a Nov. 7 arrival around 1:02 p.m. EST (1802 GMT) at Kennedy Space Center
(KSC). Discovery successfully
undocked with the International Space Station (ISS) this morning.
Rick
LaBrode, lead shuttle flight director for the STS-120 mission,
said eight potential impacts by micrometeorites or space junk were detected during Discovery's 13 days in space, but he is confident the anomalies pose no
threat.
"All
of these are expected to be cleared with the inspection that we're performing
today," LaBrode said. The potential impacts to Discovery's heat-resistant
panels were recorded by sensors mounted to the shuttle's wing leading edges, which bear the brunt of searing
atmospheric reentry.
As for what
the shuttle's sensors picked up, space shuttle program manager Wayne Hale
explained that the harsh environment of space--which can swing from scorching to
icy temperatures in moments--likely caused the anomalies.
"There
are no indications of any damage," Hale said, but noted engineers on the
ground will pore over the data retrieved by Discovery's sensor-tipped extension
boom.
Homeward
bound
As the
STS-120 crew wrapped up the thorough heat shield inspection, shuttle commander
Pamela Melroy took a moment to look outside the window and deliver a
landing-day forecast.
"We
can see the runway from orbit, so we're thinking the weather there is looking
pretty good!" Melroy told spacecraft communicator Tony Antonelli at
Mission Control of the KSC landing site. Antonelli joked that he would forward
her report to weather officers for review.
As of right
now, flight controllers said only windy conditions are a concern for landing
day, with gusts currently reaching about 25 mph (40 kph).
Hale said
Melroy opted for a daylight landing for pilot George Zamka because she felt more comfortable with the
option. The descending orbit--a northwest-to-southeast path--will take
Discovery across the heartland of America, which has not been attempted since
the loss of Columbia in 2003.
Hale
explained that noctilucent clouds, less air to slow the space shuttle down and
extra propellant required to make the entry are the major reasons why it's not
often attempted. But better visibility, he said, is the bonus.
"It is
a basic fact that landing in the daylight is safer and easier than landing in
the dark," Hale said.
Wednesday's
current forecast here at KSC calls for sunny skies and wind gusts of 15 mph (24
kph).
If conditions
sour, the STS-120 crew will have several opportunities to land at other sites:
California's Edwards Air Force Base at 2:28 p.m. EST (1928 GMT) or 4:02 p.m.
EST (2102 GMT, New Mexico's White Sands Space Harbor at 2:31 p.m. EST (1931
GMT) or 4:04 p.m. EST (2104 GMT), or another attempt to land here around
2:35 p.m. EST (1935 GMT).
Melroy and
her crew delivered a 31,500-pound (14,288-kilogram) room to the space station,
relocated a massive solar array truss and made an unprecedented repair of a
torn solar wing during their mission. Tomorrow the crew will make final
preparations for landing.
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