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Topic: Space Shuttle Discovery (Read 545 times)

lakelady
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Space Shuttle Discovery
« on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:14am »

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Discovering the men and women of Discovery
Crew prepared for pressure of unique mission

Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Posted: 3:53 a.m. EDT (07:53 GMT)

(CNN) -- They are parents, as well as sons and daughters; triathletes, nature-lovers and rock 'n' rollers; pilots, scholars and engineers; seasoned space explorers and first-timers.

The astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery are also groundbreakers -- the first to fly since the Columbia disaster in 2003.

Discovery is scheduled to launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday.

NASA hopes the shuttle will restore confidence in the United States' embattled shuttle program after the loss of Columbia. (Full story)

They share a mission, a close connection to their fallen colleagues and a readiness to risk their lives for space exploration.

"We want to explore. We're curious people," said Eileen Collins, the crew's commander. "Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ... We believe in what we're doing. Now it's time to go."

The crew hails from seemingly worlds away -- 11,000 miles, in the case of Charles Camarda's native New York City and the beaches of Andy Thomas' Adelaide, Australia.

From Iowa to Japan, they grew up idolizing Neil Armstrong and other earlier astronauts and dreaming of reaching the stars.

For Wendy Lawrence, 46, this is a family business: Her father, William, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and a superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, was a test pilot with future astronauts John Glenn and Alan Shepherd. William Lawrence was among 32 finalists in the inaugural astronaut class.

Besides their individual stories, each crewmember also brings their own responsibilities and skill-set to the mission. As taxing as the flight will be physically and mentally, the greatest burden -- for the astronauts and their families -- may be psychological, as they lift off knowing that the most recent shuttle crew didn't return alive.

"There [are] going to be times up in orbit that we're going to think about it, and especially the Columbia crew and families," said James Kelly, pilot of the Discovery mission.

"Until our wheels [hit] down, that heightened level of awareness for our families and the people around us is going to be the same as it is for the ascent. There are going to be a lot of fingernails bitten off."

Full of personality
Despite such concerns, Collins calls the upcoming flight "the safest ... ever flown."

The crew and scores of NASA employees have worked relentlessly to make that the case. Along the way, they look to Collins, 48 -- a veteran of three space flights -- for guidance on everything from emergency situations to media scrutiny.

"Eileen is fantastic," said Kelly, 41. "She has gone through this on ... every one of her missions, being one of the first women to do so many things."

One of Collins and NASA managers' main goals is opening up communication, in urging astronauts to demand answers and participate fully in decisions -- a priority absent in past space flights, according to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

"We're constantly looking at ourselves going, 'Are we missing anything?'" she said. "I want to hear all you people speak up, talk to me, tell me what's on your mind."

Camarda said NASA could use more New Yorkers like him to argue persistently and vehemently, if need be, without being reticent or intimidated.

"You shouldn't have to be nice," said the Queens native, 43. "If someone doesn't want to listen to them, maybe he should speak louder until he gets heard."

While the only New Yorker, Camarda is not the only character in the crew. Thomas, 53, enjoys horseback jumping, windsurfing and strumming a guitar, among other pursuits. Steve Robinson, 49, lead guitarist in a rock 'n' roll band called Max Q (he also plays banjo, mandolin, bass guitar and pedal steel guitar), said, "I still want to be a musician and an artist someday, when I grow up."

Each crew member possesses an astronaut's unique blend of smarts and guts. They are both analytical (interested in and able to grasp space flight's technicalities) and adventurous in their desire to venture into space, despite the obvious danger.

Kelly, nicknamed "Vegas," faced danger daily for years as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot before entering the space program. Pointing to a wall listing fallen astronauts, he said, "If, six centuries from now, that wall is not filled up with names, then we've probably failed."

"Our job is to ... go as far as possible," he said. "The bottom line is we need to take the risk."

A family affair
In training and certainly on launch day, the mission's perils reverberate outside the shuttle, especially affecting the astronauts' families.

Discovery crew members take part in a taste test on some of the food they'll take on the mission.
Image:

Collins said she tries to inform and prepare her 9-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son -- letting them in the flight simulator, showing them videos of past missions and introducing them to crewmates' children. Communication is key, said the four crewmates with children.

"I've tried to be honest and talk about what we're doing to prevent an accident, and also I will talk about the benefits" of space travel, said Soichi Noguchi, 39, who has three children.

"I've told them that if something happens, that it will have happened with me doing what I think is the right thing to do," added Kelly, who has four children. "They have to know that."

The support system works both ways, as crew members also lean on friends and family, many of whom will flock to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to celebrate and, equally, fret about the launch.

As real as the anxiety and dangers are, Collins said abandoning the mission would be far tougher for her than carrying through with it, even with the risk.

"For me not to fly this flight, I probably couldn't live with myself," she said. "I look at my crew and all the people I worked with -- they're counting on us to stay together. We're a team, and I'm going to stick with this team."

High anxiety
This team, in spirit at least, will include the seven Columbia astronauts.

"I think about the Columbia crew every day," said Collins, echoing her crewmates. "I feel like we are carrying on their mission."

Crewmembers will bring mementoes into orbit, while much of the mission itself focuses on safety checks and measures related to the crash. Especially given all the time they had spent with the Columbia crew and later with their families, emotions will be running high -- especially on launch and reentry -- the Discovery astronauts said.

The fact this is the first post-crash mission has heightened media scrutiny, further adding to the mental toll.

"There's a lot of pressure with any shuttle launch, [but] obviously this one has been magnified at least one hundred-fold," said Kelly. "If you're the type that worries about pressure, then you're going to fold on any shuttle mission."

On the heels of critical crash investigation reports, the crew has worked to grasp technical details, while guarding against complacency and poor communication.

"Had we listened a little bit more and paid attention to the hardware that was talking to us, we probably could have prevented the accident," said Collins of the Columbia crash."We need to learn from the mistakes we made ... I am continually reminding myself that we're in a dangerous business."

Columbia's demise made crystal clear the perils of space travel. But even with that tragedy fresh in their minds, the Discovery crew nonetheless is raring to go.

"I didn't pick [this flight]," said Camarda. "But if I could have, I would have."

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AoM
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #1 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:22am »

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thanks LL!! i was just reading this over at CNN. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this! I can't even read the stories that mention the families of the Columbia Astronauts. I just break down and can't stop crying

I am planning on getting to work at 6 AM tomorrow so that I can be home in plenty of time to watch the lift off

For those interested, it lifts off at 3:51 eastern time from Kennedy in Cape Canaveral. I have been praying for a safe liftoff since they confirmed the date. God Be with them!!

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luci
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #2 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:26am »

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Absolutely we will watch it Cool

Do any of you remember where you
were the day of liftoff of the Challenger?

Our son and I were in the Den watching &
couldn't believe what we saw when it exploded.

Most of you were probably in school or college,
and not born yet!

« Last Edit: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:48am by luci »

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AoM
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #3 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:34am »

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Luci, i think you meant the Challenger. I was 4 years old and I was watching it too, I don't remember much, my parents told me later that i didn't understand what happened. But i knew it was bad and wouldn't stop crying.

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luci
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #4 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 9:49am »

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Yes, Angel that's exactly what I mean,
I've corrected the boo boo, thanks! Wink

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Boradamer
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #5 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 10:48am »

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I was in English Lit in High School. The announcement came over the speaker and the AV geeks rolled out every TV in the school and we all stood around and watched the replay. Most cried. The rest of the day we just talked about it in every class.

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yesteach
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #6 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 12:04pm »

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I was at my stepmothers house with my daughter who was not quite a year old yet. Our house was being exterminated, and we had to spend the day over there... K was 11 months old, and she remembers it happening.. can tell me where we were, who was there... amazing.

As for Columbia, I was in bed when it exploded over Dallas... I'm about 60miles south... and it shook my house. I thought it was thunder until I got up and saw it on the news and hour or so later... my family lives in East Texas and a piece of it was in the street about two miles from my parents house... Sad

When I was in Florida in April, we saw Discovery on the pad... was VERY cool...

Will definitely be watching the launch... Cheesy

« Last Edit: Jul 12^th, 2005, 12:04pm by yesteach »

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Pocket
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #7 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 2:23pm »

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I wish them well on their mission. I hope and pray they have all the bugs worked out.......no more falling ice, etc. Strange how that happened when the shuttle has been on missions before.

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AoM
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #8 on: Jul 12^th, 2005, 2:33pm »

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Pocket, i think what happened was that Florida was going through an unusually cold snap at the time, they had put the launch off for a few days because of ice. (remember this was in Jan or Feb) but that fateful day they though that it was warm enough to go. What the didn't know what that the previous few days of cold had weakened that O Ring, literally, their rubber band broke. They could have waited another week and it still would have happened, the ring just couldn't take the cold. Its sad really, such a small thing cost 7 lives. One of harder learned lessons of space flight... Sad

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lakelady
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #9 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 11:13am »

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I'm excited! Cool

I have friend in Houston who does film production for NASA. He and his wife arrived in Cocoa Beach yesterday. They attended the United Space Alliance VIP party last night. He said there were a few celebrities, lots of USA management, current and former astronauts and lots of big wigs. This morning they were attending the VIP brunch and then boarding the busses for Kennedy Space Center. Can't wait to hear from them firsthand how it went today.

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AoM
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #10 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 11:34am »

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they are now saying there is a 60% chance of a shuttle "no-go" Cry

the astronauts are going out to the orbiter anyway, they won't know until liftoff if they can do it but its not looking good

so much for getting here at 6:30 so i could leave at 2. *sigh* doing it all again tomorrow apparently

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yesteach
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #11 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 12:31pm »

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They just called it off... problems with the external fuel tanks from what I can hear... news report broke in to announce it's been "scrubbed"

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luci
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #12 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 12:34pm »

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Problem with two faulty fuel tank censors. ...or does that word start with an S?
At this time they do not know when it will be rescheduled!

Oh shoot! We were making plans to be inside and in front of the TV for the launch.
I'm glad they are taking every precauation!

« Last Edit: Jul 13^th, 2005, 12:36pm by luci »

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Insane 4 Survivor
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #13 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 12:41pm »

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Yes, the crew is getting ready to diembark now.

Hey LL, maybe they will put it off until we are there!

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AoM
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Re: Space Shuttle Discovery
« Reply #14 on: Jul 13^th, 2005, 3:22pm »

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they are now saying Monday for the launch. I just hope its not tuesday, tuesday is the one day there's no way i'll be able to watch it

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