General Chat

Thanks for the reminder Elaine. I hope they all reach home safely. Rosi

Space shuttle cleared for return NASA has given the green light for Discovery to attempt landing on Monday, after an inspection showed no signs of damage to the space shuttle. Engineers reviewed images from an inspection of the shuttle's wings and nose cap conducted by Discovery's crew. The shuttle had been docked with the International Space Station (ISS) during the 13-day mission. Six astronauts are on board, after German astronaut Thomas Reiter was left behind for a six-month ISS stay. The shuttle had been kept 74km (46 miles) from the ISS so it could return should serious damage be found. The shuttle is now scheduled to land at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The landing will bring to an end a mission that NASA hopes will help reduce heightened safety concerns over the shuttle program since the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster. The mission is just the second to be carried out since the space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere in January 2003, killing all seven crew on board. Accident investigators said that disaster had been caused by insulating foam falling from Columbia's external fuel tank during launch and striking the shuttle's wing, compromising the heat shield needed to protect it during re-entry. Discovery's heat shield scan was done with the same laser and camera system which was used to check for possible damage from flying debris during launch earlier in the flight. It also checked for micrometeoroid impacts which could have occurred during the stint in space. The mission has included three spacewalks and repairs vital to resuming building work on the ISS.

Wishing the crew a safe journey ..NASA TV LINK ON THIS PAGE http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html or on FOX news NOW