Astronauts rehearse take-off
2005-05-05 10:44
Florida - Nasa held a practice run on Wednesday, 10 weeks before the rescheduled lift-off of the space shuttle Discovery - the first since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Heightened post-9/11 security was in evidence as the seven-person team of astronauts, dressed in orange space jumpsuits, arrived around 07:15 for the rehearsal.
"The exercise will enable the shuttle launch team and Discovery's crew to get familiar with all of the procedures they'll go through in the days and hours leading up to the real lift-off," said Bruce Buckingham, news chief for the Kennedy Space Centre.
Nasa announced last week it was delaying its resumption of shuttle flights by nearly two months, and that the new date for lift-off would be July 13.
On Wednesday, commander Eileen Collins told reporters that the risks associated with a May launch of the Discovery were "unacceptable".
Nasa pushed back the Discovery's mission to the orbiting International Space Station to carry out a more exhaustive review of modifications the shuttle has undergone since the Columbia disintegrated on re-entry on February 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- AFP