Cape Canaveral, Fla.
With memories of the 2003 Columbia disaster still fresh, the space shuttle Discovery touched down at Cape Canaveral this week, safely returning six astronauts to Earth. After the landing, shuttle commander Col. Steven Lindsey inspected Discovery’s underside for damage to its protective heat tiles, which had failed calamitously during the Columbia’s re-entry, killing all seven crew members. “I’ve never seen a vehicle as clean as this one,” Lindsey declared. During its 13-day expedition, Discovery performed repairs to the International Space Station and delivered fresh supplies and a new crew member. The shuttle program is scheduled to be phased out by 2010; NASA hopes to fly 16 more shuttle missions by then.
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