Space : Shuttle : After tragedy of Columbia shuttle burnup on return, new launch evokes rejoicing, but fleet grounded

Amidst all the sheer joy of NASA's new space shuttle Discovery making it off the launch pad, the videos of the take-off revealed debris floating down and away from the craft (seems a bird was also struck). This has taken the focus off the astronauts and their work, and put it on the question of the shuttle's safe return.

The deaths of 7 astronauts on the Columbia in February 1, 2003, haunts even the slightest indicator of a possible problem regarding the return into the earth's atmosphere at the completion of Discovery's journey. An earlier attempt to launch Discovery on July 13, 2005, was called off because of a problem with a fuel sensor.

Canadians are especially proud of the "space arm" manufactured for this mission by Sparr, a Canuck engineering firm. The arm will now figure in a vital way to rectify the effects of the events videotaped.

The events were captured in onboard video and the agency says it now needs to consider their significance. ¶ In one case, a heatshield tile seems to have been affected on the underside of the shuttle. ¶ Discovery's astronauts are to use a 15m-long robotic arm to inspect the orbiter's exterior. ¶ The arm is equipped with sensor and camera attachments. A full sweep of the shuttle's key surfaces will take several hours.

FLASH UPDATE:

In a late development 2 hours ago, NASA reached a decision about the status of further launches.

"NASA said it was grounding the US space shuttle fleet after a large piece of foam insulation broke off from the fuel tank of the Discovery shuttle on liftoff. ¶ While the US space agency said the foam did not damage the shuttle on Tuesday's launch, a spokesman said that future flights are on hold until the problem is corrected. ¶ "Until we're ready we won't fly again," said Bill Parsons, space shuttle program manager."

Here's hopin' all the astrogang return safe and sound. - Owlb