Nasa back on track
2006-07-18 06:51
Cape Canaveral, Florida - The Discovery shuttle's successful mission puts Nasa back on track to finish building the International Space Station and pursue its dream of sending astronauts to Mars.
Nasa administrator Michael Griffin's gamble to launch Discovery despite objections from some of his own experts paid off, as the shuttle landed safely on Monday from a 13-day mission focused on highlighting safety three years after the Columbia tragedy.
Officials wanted to show a marked improvement in flight safety to pave the way for the resumption of regular missions to complete the ISS before the shuttle's retirement in 2010.
The Discovery mission was just the second since the Columbia disaster in February 2003.
"Completing the space station and flying out the shuttle programme is the first step in the exploration plan outlined by President (George W) Bush," Griffin told reporters after Discovery's landing.
Nasa plans to replace the shuttle, which is limited to low Earth orbit, with a capsule capable of returning astronauts to the moon and eventually sending them to Mars.
Griffin has argued that the two missions since the Columbia accident were the first step toward resuming regular flights to the ISS, which would serve as a stepping stone for missions to Mars.
'We're back baby!'
Even before returning to Earth, Discovery's astronauts expressed confidence during media interviews that the mission would signal the space programme's revival following the Columbia trauma.
Discovery pilot Mark Kelly said his twin brother Scott Kelly, a fellow astronaut, had summed it up in a few words: "We're back baby!"
The Discovery mission was punctuated by three successful spacewalks to test new repair techniques created after the Columbia tragedy and replace a cable reel for the ISS's construction equipment transporter.
The repairs were needed in order to resume construction of the half-finished ISS.
Nasa plans to launch the Atlantis shuttle next month in the first of 16 missions aimed at completing the ISS by 2010.
"We are ready to go assemble the station, we are ready to start flying shuttles on a more regular basis," Discovery Commander Steven Lindsey said.
But the next four years must be trouble free, otherwise the shuttle could be grounded earlier than planned.
"We don't have any slack, we have just enough shuttle flights left to do the job. So we can't afford to mess up," Griffin said.
- AFP