Space shuttle Discovery landing safely after the Return to Flight mission (STS-114). Discovery landed on 9th August 2005 after a 14-day mission. The mission was the first space shuttle flight since the loss of Columbia on 1st February 2003. Columbia was lost after falling insulation foam on launch damaged its heat shield,leading to it burning up on re-entry. The foam insulation on the fuel tank was redesigned for this mission,but small pieces still fell off during the launch. This led NASA to ground the remaining shuttle fleet until the problem could be definitively resolved. A small area of heat shield damage was successfully repaired during a spacewalk on 3rd August | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / NASA |
Taille de l’image : | 2992 px × 2391 px |
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Property Release : | Non requis |
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