WHat is update on space junk forces shuttle discovery to Dodge on way home?”
The space shuttle Discovery dodged a mysterious piece of orbital trash Thursday as its astronaut crew prepared for a planned landing in Florida. Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Kevin Ford fired Discovery’s engines at 12:02 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT) for 14 seconds to move the spacecraft clear of the space junk and continue on with their landing attempt today. The “mystery orbital debris,” as Mission Control called it, apparently came free from the shuttle or the International Space Station while both vehicles were linked during a spacewalk on Saturday. NASA engineers do not know what the object is or its size, but it has been creeping ever closer to Discovery since the shuttle fired its engines to leave the station’s orbital neighborhood Tuesday. At 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 GMT), the debris was expected to fly within a safety perimeter box that extends out 25 miles (40 km) around Discovery and 2 miles (3 km) above and below the shuttle. “Based on the latest tracking data, the object wil
The space shuttle Discovery dodged a mysterious piece of orbital trash Thursday as its astronaut crew prepared for a planned landing in Florida. Shuttle commander Rick Sturckow and pilot Kevin Ford fired Discovery’s engines at 12:02 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT) for 14 seconds to move the spacecraft clear of the space junk and continue on with their landing attempt today. The “mystery orbital debris,” as Mission Control called it, apparently came free from the shuttle or the International Space Station while both vehicles were linked during a spacewalk on Saturday. NASA engineers do not know what the object is or its size, but it has been creeping ever closer to Discovery since the shuttle fired its engines to leave the station’s orbital neighborhood Tuesday. At 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 GMT), the debris was expected to fly within a safety perimeter box that extends out 25 miles (40 km) around Discovery and 2 miles (3 km) above and below the shuttle. “Based on the latest tracking data, the object wil
