The first day of the July launch window will be the liftoff date for the STS-114 mission and her crew.
Mission Commander Eileen Collins and the crew of the shuttle Discovery received the official word this afternoon. After NASA administrator Michael Griffin and other officials completed two days of meetings with shuttle managers, they confirmed July 13th would be the launch date.
The Flight Readiness Review assessed the fitness of the shuttle Discovery to fly. They have set 3:51 pm EDT on July 13th as the time for liftoff. “After a vigorous, healthy discussion our team has come to a decision: we’re ready to go,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after the meeting.
“The past two and half years have resulted in significant improvements that have greatly reduced the risk of flying the Shuttle. But we should never lose sight of the fact that space flight is risky.”
That risk hangs in the air, the memory of the awful first day of February, two years ago, when Columbia broke up on re-entry. Now, America prepares to return to flight in less than two weeks.
“The Discovery mission, designated STS-114, is a test flight,” Mr. Griffin said, noting that astronauts will try out a host of new Space Shuttle safety enhancements. Also, Discovery will carry 15 tons of supplies and replacement hardware to the International Space Station.
And it is appropriate that America returns to space. This has never been a country to live in the past, to dwell on the pain of a tragedy. America remembers, and America moves forward. And move forward it shall. But on what course?
Second star on the right, and straight on til morning.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
