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Poor weather kept the space shuttle Discovery on the Florida launch pad for longer than NASA wanted ahead of its recent supply run to the International Space Station (ISS), and now inclement conditions have conspired to keep the stalwart shuttle in orbit for a day longer than expected.
Poor weather and orbiting rubbish affect Discovery return. Image: NASA.
Despite successfully uncoupling from the ISS on Wednesday and pencilled in for a return to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, the Discovery is now expected to make its landing later this evening due to the interference of localised rain showers and problematic winds.
Touchdown in Florida – recurring weather delays notwithstanding – is now scheduled for 21:48 GMT (17:48 EDT). And, just to be on the safe side, NASA has also earmarked a secondary landing slot at 23:23 GMT (19:23 EDT) via the Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In related news, NASA’s current run of near misses with roaming space junk continued this week with Discovery forced to adjust its orbital placement in order to avoid an incoming piece of orbiting detritus.
The latest brush with potentially dangerous debris came after a huge piece of an old Ariane-5 rocket came within a mile of the International Space Station, quickly followed by a small chunk of an old Chinese weather satellite that passed at a much safer distance.
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