Discovery Starts 7-Day Research Mission
The space shuttle Discovery and its international crew blasted into orbit Wednesday and immediately launched an ambitious seven-day mission designed to answer such questions as why spaceflight can sometimes be a pain in the lower back.
After a one-hour delay caused by weather concerns and a few minor glitches, Discovery lifted off at 6:53 a.m PST and spiraled into an unusual orbit that will carry it as far north as southeastern Alaska and as far south as the tip of South America. Normally, the shuttle stays within 28 degrees of the Equator, but the high inclination orbit was picked so that Discovery would fly through areas of higher radiation, thus allowing scientists to study the effects of radiation on certain organisms.
That is what this mission is all about--the effects of spaceflight and weightlessness on humans and other creatures--and the astronauts will be kept busy watching 42 primary experiments.
This was the 20th launch since Challenger exploded over Florida on a cold winter day six years ago, and NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly cited the near-perfect countdown as evidence that the space program has matured.
This is the first flight of the International Microgravity Laboratory, which is housed in the European-built “Spacelab” in the shuttle’s cargo bay.
Two-thirds of the astronauts who have flown in space have complained of lower back pain, especially during the early stages of the flight.
Ronald J. White, program scientist for the mission, said crewmen will take a series of photos of each astronaut’s lower-back area throughout the mission.
“The pain seems to originate from the fact that we get taller in space,” White said, because the human body, no longer compressed by gravity, just sort of stretches out two or three inches. When that happens, White said, “the spine moves into an unusual shape.”
The photos could help scientists determine if the pain is caused by the change in the shape of the spine or something else entirely--such as anxiety over the launch itself, White said.
Other living organisms that will do their bit for research include 72 million worms, 3 billion yeast cells, 180 oak seedlings, 32 million mouse bone cells and 360 oat seeds to be planted by the crew while in orbit. Scientists will look for evidence of how they grow or change in space.
Because of the need to constantly monitor some of the experiments, the crew has been divided into two teams that will take turns on 12-hour shifts. Two members of the crew are not Americans. They are Roberta L. Bondar, 46, a neurologist with the Canadian Space Agency, and Ulf Merbold, 50, a physicist with the European Space Agency who is making his second flight aboard the shuttle.
Discovery is commanded by Ronald J. Grabe, 46. Other crew members are Stephen S. Oswald, 40, the pilot; Norman E. Thagard, 48, a medical doctor; William F. Readdy, 39, an engineer, and David C. Hilmers, 41, also an engineer.
