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Discovery crew happy with mission so far
BY SETH BORENSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery woke up to The Beaches on Sunday, their first morning in space, where the first order of business was to make sure their ship wasn't damaged during launch.
The crew at up the sky late Saturday with a fiery ascent that practically turned night into day in the first nighttime launch in four years. Then it was on to the international space station to rewire the orbital outpost.
The astronauts began their day to the mellow tunes of "Here Comes the Sun."
"Good morning, Discovery. We especially want to thank you for the burst of sunshine you brought into our lives last night. It was an awesome day," said Mission Control radioped up to the crew.
"It was pretty great of all us, too." Commander Mark Polansky responded.
Astronauts will spend the day inspecting the hull for potentially critical heat shield damage from debris falling off the external tank during lift off, the problem that doomed the
shuttle Columbia in 2003.
Nicholas Patrick, one of the five astronauts experiencing zero gravity for the first time, will use the shuttles 50-foot robotic arm and similarly long boom with sensors and a camera to inspect the ship. The survey was to start at 3:12 p.m.
Discovery is to dock with the space station today to begin the intricate work. Three complicated spacewalks are planned to rewire the space station from a temporary to a permanent power source.
NASA had to beat the odds to get off the launch pad Saturday. After only a 30 percent chance of good weather earlier in the day and a wind chill of 45 degrees through a moonlight sky at 8:47 p.m. EST
"It just all came perfectly," launch director Mike Leimbach said.
The mood was also upbeat aboard Discovery.
Paul Kizzle/Associated Pres
"I think we have five people who just haven't stopped smiling yet." Polansky said after the shuttle reached space.
During its 12-day mission, Discovery crew will also deliver an $11 million addition to the space lab and bring home one of the space stations three crew members, German astronaut Thomas Robert of the European Space Agency, American astronaut Sunita "Sun" Williams will replace him, staying for six months.
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission 515-116 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Saturday, is the first launch of a shipment in four years.
The two veterans aboard the shuttle are
roanisky and Robert Carbleam, who will spacewalk three times. The others are pilot William Oeflein, and mission specialists Patrick, Williams, Joan Higgintomb and the European Space Agency's Christer Fugseng.