Many people gathered to watch Discovery's launch
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Images courtesy of NASA
Click on image for full size
Images courtesy of NASA
Related links:
STS-95 Launch: "Let the wings of Discovery lift us on to the future."
News story originally written on October 30, 1998
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on
October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8
1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd manned space mission.
A huge crowd came to watch John Glenn
return to space for the second time in 36 years. People who regularly
watch shuttle launches said that the crowd was a lot larger than most
recent launches. In addition to the people watching in person, the
launch was covered live by many major broadcast stations.
Discovery was scheduled to launch at 2 p.m. EST but was delayed for a
total of nineteen minutes: once when a cockpit warning alarm sounded and
once when a private pilot violated the restricted airspace around the
launch site.
There may have been one problem during the launch. NASA officials believe
a panel struck one of the engines. The panel was possibly a door which
covers a parachute which is used to slow the stuttle during landing. They
don't think that this incident will cause any problems with the mission or
the landing.
The crew for the nine-day mission consists of: Curtis L. Brown as
commander; Steven W. Lindsey as pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, Scott E.
Parazynski, and Pedro Duque as mission specialists; and Chiaki Mukai and
Glenn as Payload Specialists.
