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Hundreds Welcome Discovery Crew In Houston
UPDATED: 2:17 pm PDT August 10,
2005
NASA rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for Discovery's astronauts in Houston.The seven astronauts arrived to a rousing welcome-home as nearly 700 people crowded an airplane hangar.Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, of Texas, and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were on hand to welcome Discovery's crew home to the city where Mission Control is located.The astronauts actually flew back to Houston Tuesday night from their California landing site. Their families were flown to Houston from Florida, where the landing had been expected to take place.Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins said the U.S. should continue launching shuttles until the scheduled completion of the international space station in 2010.Officials said earlier the tired crew had been catching up on rest.Stormy weather in Florida on Tuesday blocked a landing at Kennedy Space Center, where family members were waiting to greet the crew.Instead, the space shuttle touched down in California at Edwards Air Force Base.The shuttle is expected to be loaded onto the back of a special 747 and flown back to Florida in about one week.Discovery's flight was the first mission since the Columbia disaster early in 2003. The flight included a resupply and repair of the international space station, a thorough inspection of the shuttle's exterior and the first in-flight repairs on the belly of the orbiter.The fleet is currently grounded, however, as NASA tries to determine how to keep insulating foam from peeling from the external fuel tank during launch. A chunk of the material came off during this flight, but did no damage.A similar piece of debris hit Columbia's left wing during ascent. It caused a crack that led to the destruction of the vehicle.
Previous Stories:
- August 9, 2005: Discovery Crew Celebrates Successful Mission
- August 9, 2005: NASA: 'Good To Be Us' After Safe Landing
- August 8, 2005: NASA Outlines Backup Sites To Land Shuttle Tuesday
- August 7, 2005: Discovery Crew Heading Home
- August 6, 2005: NASA 'Ecstatic' About Discovery's Mission
- August 4, 2005: Discovery Blanket Doesn't Need Repair, NASA Says
- August 2, 2005: Spacewalk Preparations Under Way
- August 1, 2005: Astronauts Will Attempt Shuttle Repair In Space
- July 31, 2005: NASA Considering Repairs To Discovery Damage
- July 30, 2005: Discovery Mission Could Be Extended By A Day
- July 29, 2005: NASA Leader Says 2005 Flights Still Possible
- July 28, 2005: Foam Piece Likely Struck Shuttle; Discovery Still OK To Fly
- July 26, 2005: Discovery Returns U.S. To Spaceflight
- July 19, 2005: NASA Still Stumped By Fuel Gauge Problem
- July 15, 2005: NASA Could Launch Four Days From Fix -- If It's Found
- July 13, 2005: Shuttle Won't Be Ready Again Until At Least Saturday
- July 13, 2005: Planned Shuttle Flight Scrubbed By Glitch
- July 13, 2005: Cover Falls Off Shuttle, But Damage Can Be Fixed, NASA Says
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