Discovery is about to take off

On Tuesday, the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) confirmed the plan to launch the shuttle Discovery on October 23 unchanged. Discovery will be launched on the International Space Station (ISS) on a 14-day journey with female commander Pamela A. Melroy and 6 crew members.

Earlier, NASA had intended to postpone the flight after a group of independent engineers warned of small cracks in three insulation panels protecting the ship's wings. These insulation panels work against the terrible heat of friction when the spacecraft enters the atmosphere, they can withstand the heat up to 1,648 ^o C.

However, after careful consideration, NASA experts decided there was no need to replace the above insulation panels. And the spacecraft will still be launched as expected.

It is known that in February 2003, a hole in the insulated plate of Columbia shuttle caused the burning of fuel tanks on the ship, causing a horrific disaster that caused Columbia to explode while on its way back. Earth. The disaster killed the entire crew of 7 people.

(Photo: Space)

DB