Astronauts Use Bonus Day to Get In More Research

Discovery’s astronauts enjoyed an extra day in orbit Friday after rain and clouds at the shuttle landing site delayed their homecoming. Researchers rejoiced at the bonus time.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration aimed for a touchdown today, if not in Florida then in California.

Good weather was forecast for the planned 4:37 a.m. PST landing at Kennedy Space Center, NASA’s first choice. Just in case, Discovery had two opportunities to land at Edwards Air Force Base on subsequent orbits.

Friday was the ninth flight day for the astronauts, who had assured Mission Control that they would not mind spending more time aloft.

After being waved off from a landing Friday morning, the four-man, one-woman crew quickly powered back up ozone and solar monitors in the cargo bay. Within a few hours, scientists on the ground began collecting an extra 12 hours of data.

NASA flight director Rich Jackson said the extra science data was “a silver lining to the clouds that prevented us from landing” at the space center.

“Of course, the safety of the orbiter and crew is the utmost concern to everybody,” added mission scientist Timothy Miller.

Miller said the extra day would provide researchers with ozone measurements over a wider range of the Southern Hemisphere and allow for more concentrated surveys of the Northern Hemisphere.

Most of the ozone monitoring during Discovery’s flight has focused on the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists over the past month have reported lower than normal ozone levels this winter at these middle and upper latitudes, triggering fears that an ozone hole eventually might form over the Arctic like the one over the Antarctic.

Ozone in the stratosphere protects Earth against harmful ultraviolet rays.

NASA program scientist Jack Kaye said the results, once released in about a year, will be shared with researchers who build computer atmospheric models.

“The modelers will just feel like kids going into a candy store,” Kaye said.

NASA said the delay in bringing Discovery back would not affect plans to send Columbia on a German-sponsored laboratory research flight next Saturday.