A short update at 18:45 - on NASA TV they say that the transmitter and antenna on the shuttle will be opened only tomorrow morning. The press conference is expected at 19:00
19:40 - The large hatches of the ferry's trunk were opened. The broadcast was received thanks to experimental systems of direct transmission to the ground from the shuttle when it passed over the United States for the first time.
At a press conference held at the Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that this was the smoothest shuttle launch to date. However, the footage will be analyzed and studied frame by frame. Griffin and Bill Reedy, the director of the ferry, claim that no shrapnel is known to have fallen and certainly not any shrapnel that hit the ferry. However, the shuttle's primary mission, aside from delivering supplies and components to the International Space Station, is to test the shuttle and experiment with repairs to heat shield tiles in space. It is hoped that they will not need it in a practical way either.
In any case, the heads of NASA prefer not to rest on their laurels and announce the success of the mission only when the shuttle returns to Earth 12 days later.
Griffin announced in response to a question from one of the journalists that he was satisfied with the decision to fly even if the malfunction that occurred in the previous launch attempt about two weeks ago were to repeat itself, and yet it would be better if NASA did not need to put this decision to the test.
18:15 - A press conference is expected in the next few minutes. Meanwhile, the news sites on the Internet are reporting that the space shuttle Discovery took off into the sky over Florida on Tuesday morning (17:39 Israel time), when NASA returns to launch manned space flights for the first time since the Columbia disaster in 2003.
The spacecraft took off as planned at 10:39 am EST after many days of repeated checks and attempts to repair a fuel sensor in the external fuel tank.
Two minutes after launch, two solid fuel boosters separated from the spacecraft that continued towards the runway. Even before the launch, the crew members of Discovery who woke up shortly after midnight, arrived at the group shade wearing Hawaiian shirts in the crew dining room and astronaut Steve Robinson played the guitar. Further back they put on their spacesuits and at 8:22 all seven entered the shuttle's cabin.
Commander Eileen Collins was the first to enter, and confidently waved in front of the NASA cameras placed at the entrance to the cockpit.
The Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi said: Let's get out of isolation and take off into space." At nine o'clock, the door was closed.
About 15 km after launch 39B, a camp was established on the banks of the Barana River, and those gathered there woke up in anticipation of the launch.
"We were here when the first launch attempt was made," said Kai Novak, 41, from Hamburg, Germany. "When it was not launched, we were very disappointed. We hope it will be launched today. Thor Horlan, 46, of Sound, Norway: "I believe it's going to happen today"
The cameras that were added in many places in the area of the launch pad and even in balloons in the air are just one part of the new safety systems that were installed after the Columbia disaster. Among other things, a camera was placed on a WB-57 plane that took off from the nearby Patrick Air Force Base. The plan is to equip it with a visible light and infrared video camera to check if, God forbid, any damage occurred to the Discovery during the launch.
Flash 17:50 The shuttle disconnects nine minutes after the launch from the external fuel tank, thus ending the transmission from it. In the last few minutes we have seen the earth go round and the spaceship makes a turn in space.
Flash: 17:45 So far no faults have been detected. From time to time they switch to the TV camera that is on the external fuel tank and no fragments were seen flying at least not while they were switched to the camera.
Flash 17:42: The launch looks perfectly fine
17:00
Preparations for the Discovery launch are underway * CNN and Fox are talking about 17:39 as the first
The members of the Discovery crew took their places inside the shuttle to prepare for launch.
The external fuel tank was filled with cryogenic fuel (liquid hydrogen and oxygen) without any sign of a malfunction in the fuel sensor that caused the cancellation of the previous launch attempt.
The launch is scheduled for 10:39 EST, 14:39 GMT, 17:39 Israel time, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA's Shuttle Flight Test Manager, Pete Nikolenko, told reporters that the countdown is continuing without interruption and smoothly.
"Our flight crew is ready for a successful mission and a safe return home." said.
