Space shuttle Discovery managed to dock to the International Space Station this morning. When approaching the ISS, Discovery did a backflip to allow the ISS crew to take pictures its heat shield. These images will be used by a team of 200 scientists on the ground to see if the foam that detached from the main tank during the launch. Until that problem is resolved, all further missions are grounded.

Discovery was just 600 feet beneath the station when Commander Eileen Collins manually steered the shuttle’s nose up and slowly flipped the spacecraft over. You can view a video of the backflip on the NASA website.

Collins then repositioned the shuttle and locked onto the station just after 7 a.m. The ISS crew was able to meet their Discovery colleagues after routine leak and pressure checks.

Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut, and astronaut John Phillips used two digital cameras (one with a 400 millimeter lens and another with an 800 millimeter lens) to shoot photographs of the spacecraft.The photographs were expected to provide resolution similar to a person standing within a few inches of the shuttle’s tiles, thus allowing the team on Earth to troubleshoot and direct the astronauts in their first spacewalk. This walk aims to test new heat shield tiles repair tools that were developped after Columbia’s disaster. The two other spacewalks will repair and install critical hardware outside the space station.

Discovery brings 15 tons of much needed supply to the ISS and will come back to Earth with roughly 13 tons of trash. It brings to the station a gyroscope that will replace the one that broken in March and help steer the International Space Station.

It is possible to track Discovery using this version of Google Maps.

Below is a statement from NASA issued this morning.

NASA engineers are evaluating the loss of a large piece of insulation foam from the Space Shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank during Tuesday’s launch. Based on initial assessments, the foam — which appears to measure approximately 24 to 33 inches long, 10 to 13 inches wide and 2-1/2 to 8 inches thick — was seen by high-resolution camera equipment added to the Shuttle system after the loss of Columbia in 2003. The accident was caused by foam from the external tank hitting the orbiter during launch.

There was no indication the piece of foam sighted Tuesday caused any damage to Discovery. The Shuttle will undergo further inspection beginning Thursday to check for any significant damage to the orbiter.

“As with any unexpected occurrence, we will closely and thoroughly evaluate this event and make any needed modifications to the Shuttle before we launch again,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. “This is a test flight. Among the things we are testing are the integrity of the foam insulation and the performance of new camera equipment installed to detect problems. The cameras worked well. The foam did not.”

Discovery’s seven crew members are being updated with the latest ground team analysis of the foam loss and are continuing to take part in the inspection process.

July 28th, 2005 | Physics

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