* Astronomy

The Defence Department will be well-represented when Space Shuttle Discovery launches into space July 13, with three of the seven crewmembers from the military, including the commander, retired Col. Eileen Collins.

As the clock ticks toward the scheduled 3:51 p.m. EDT lift-off, crews are making final preparations, and NASA officials report that all details appear to be "go."

Discovery's crew includes three seasoned military astronauts. Colonel Collins and Navy Capt. Wendy Lawrence, mission specialist and logistics manager, both have three previous spaceflights under their belts. Col. James Kelly, who will serve as Discovery's pilot, was a member of the March 2001 resupply mission to the International Space Station.

In 1995, Colonel Collins was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle (Discovery STS-63) on the first joint American-Russian mission, and included a rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir.
In 1999, she was the first woman to command a shuttle mission.
She has logged more than 6,280 hours in 30 different types of aircraft, with more than 537 hours in space.

Colonel Kelly has logged more than 3,000 hours in more than 35 different aircraft. In 2001, he flew the eighth shuttle mission to visit the international space station aboard Discovery, NASA reported.
A naval aviator since 1982, Captain Lawrence has flown more than 1,500 hours in six different types of helicopters and made more than 800 shipboard landings.
Colonel Collins said she is confident of her crewmembers who have been training for this mission for the past two years.

"I have a fantastic crew. The seven shuttle crewmembers have been so professional in the work that we have done up to this point." - Colonel Collins.

During the 13-day mission, the Discovery crew will travel to the international space station, test new safety procedures and deliver supplies and science equipment to the orbital outpost.
As members of the first shuttle mission since Columbia exploded over Texas in February 2003, killing all seven crewmembers, the three said they and their families recognize the risks involved.
The crew's loss was "absolutely overwhelming. It's hard enough to lose one friend, and as a naval aviator, I've lost squadron mates and friends before. But to lose seven of them all at once is just absolutely devastating." - Captain Lawrence.

Yet as the daughter and granddaughter of military aviators, Captain Lawrence said she and her family understand the risks.
"My mother's father flew in World War II. He was shot down over the Philippines and, fortunately, was rescued. My father was shot down over Vietnam and didn't return until six years later. So my family understands the risks." - Captain Lawrence.
"Coming from my background as a fighter pilot, I've lost friends in the flying world, and so you realize that the next flight of anything could be the last flight you're on" - Colonel Kelly.
He acknowledged that flying in space is riskier than travel in other aircraft, but said it is a risk he is willing to take, and that he hopes he has prepared his family for it as well.
Colonel Kelly said what drives him is "holding on to that dream" ; a dream he said he has had since he was 5 years old and became enamoured with the Apollo moon missions.
It is the same dream Colonel Collins said she had as a child growing up in Elmira, N.Y., dubbed "the soaring capital of America" for its rich history in flight and collection of period planes. It was the dream Captain Lawrence shared as a 10-year-old when she watched images of the first man walking on the moon on her family's black-and-white TV set.

During Discovery's "Return to Flight" mission, the crewmembers said they recognize the contribution they will be making to the U.S. space program.

"I understand very well the significance of this mission. It's very important for us to get back to space." - Captain Lawrence.
Besides moving the space program forward, Captain Lawrence called the upcoming mission a way to honour the memories of the Columbia crew and their commitment to space exploration.
By building on that commitment, the astronauts said they believe they are becoming a part of something bigger than themselves.

"If you look through history, you see that the explorers and the countries that were doing the exploring were the ones that were making the world a better place to live in. That's still true." - Colonel Kelly

With the countdown for Discovery in its final hours, NASA was dealt a setback Tuesday when a window cover fell off the shuttle and damaged thermal tiles near the tail.

But the space agency said it probably could fix the problem in time for Wednesday's launch.
No workers were nearby when the window cover fell off and dropped about 18 metres.

It was not immediately clear why the cover (which was held by tape) came loose.


NASA spokesman Kyle Herring points to the spot on a model of shuttle Discovery to highlight where a window covering fell, damaging several tiles on the space shuttle

-- Edited by Blobrana at 00:35, 2005-07-13

Although they were keeping a cautious eye on Hurricane Dennis as it moved through the Caribbean, NASA flight operations officials decided to leave the Space Shuttle Discovery on its launch pad at Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 8, 2005, in anticipation of the scheduled launch - July 13, weather permitting.

Cape Canaveral is roughly in the middle of Florida`s eastern coastline, just over 75 kilometres east of Orlando, and the forecasted path for Dennis as of July 8 called for the storm to swing wide of eastern Florida and head toward the Gulf of Mexico.


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This image from the Ikonos satellite shows Discovery on launch pad 39B on April 8, 2005.
The tip of the bright orange external fuel tank is clearly visible, with the white, solid rocket booster snug up next to it. The orbiter itself is "in front of" (to the left in the image) the booster and fuel tank, but it is almost completely hidden by the support scaffolding, which swings away from the spacecraft before the final countdown to launch.
Only the tip of the shuttle`s right wing is visible; it sticks out as a slim white triangle between the grey scaffolding and the rocket booster.

NASA Return to Flight Press Kit Available Online

The press kit for the Space Shuttle Discovery Return to Flight mission (STS-114) is available online. The mission is scheduled to launch July 13.

The press kit contains detailed information about the mission, Commander Eileen Collins and the Discovery crew. The kit includes information about modifications to the Shuttle's External Tank and other changes.

The press kit and other information about the mission is available on the Web:

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/112301main_114_pk_july05.pdf (PDF)