**Discovery Countdown**

[DemonDeac]

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I know nothing about it's mission. What are they planning on doing while up in space?

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12 day mission to resupply space station

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They're also going to be testing various diagnostic and repair capabilities for the shuttle itself in an effort to detect issues created by launch like the wing damage from the last disaster.

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that too

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Well, I'm glad everything appeared to go well during launch. Of course, nobody at NASA (or Lockheed Martin, who builds the external tank, among other things, and was responsible for fixing the problem that doomed the Columbia) will be able to relax for 12 more days. It's looking good so far, though.

When I went to New Orleans a few months ago to work for Lockheed, I thought I was going there to work on the external tank (I was going to work at the same facility where they build it and my company did send 4 or 5 people there to work on it right after the Columbia disaster). I'm glad I ended up working on something else while I was there, though, because the last few months (more than that, actually) have been hell trying to get this thing back into space.

[Shajen]

You done scienced the rocket good son.

[IronDragon1]

[MrTrik]

Drudge is reporting that debris was spotted falling from Discovery's fuel tank. They'll be checking the pics and the shuttle crew will be using a new boom to inspect wing edges, tile areas, and other important surfaces.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

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Drudge is reporting that debris was spotted falling from Discovery's fuel tank. They'll be checking the pics and the shuttle crew will be using a new boom to inspect wing edges, tile areas, and other important surfaces.

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Yeah, they were showing slow-mo video on the news a while after launch and just in the short time they showed, it was clear that at least 3 or 4 pieces of debris fell off. The particular pieces they showed looked innocent enough, but there definitely was something. For the record, there's debris like this on every mission.

[MrTrik]

Yeah I've always wondered about the debris on every mission. So many things have to be done so perfectly, so many complicated systems have to operate exactly the way they were intended to. Yet stuff still just flies off the tanks and orbiter in a random fashion.

Brings to mind the old adage, we can put a man on the moon but we can't shrink wrap small electronics in a material that won't cut my effin jugular vein.

[Creole]

Everyone here at the Michoud Assembly Facility is talking about what this piece of debris could be. It seems to be about 2min into the flight.

[image][/image]

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

You seriously work at MAF? I just got done working there for about 3 months. I assume you're in ET? Are you an engineer (or other office worker), or are you out in the factory?

[Creole]

I'm in quality here. Been here about a year and a half. Lots of talk going on this afternoon about what may be the ice frost ramp aft the bipod tearing free from around the feeline.