NASA set July 13 as launch date for Space shuttle

NASA set July 13 as launch date for Space shuttle

NASA has officially put July 13 as the launch date of the upcoming Space Shuttle Discovery mission. This is the first mission for any Space Shuttle ever since the Columbia Shuttle incident some two years back. They also said that the best people working in NASA have declared that the Shuttle is now safe for the mission.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in a statement: “We are being as smart about this as we know how to be, but we are up against the limits of our human knowledge. If someone wants more, they’re going to have to find smarter humans.” This Space Shuttle launch has seen numerous delays, technical faults, and massive changes to the various components of the Space Shuttle.

Griffin added: “Based on a very thorough and very successful flight-readiness review, we’re currently ‘go’ for launch of Discovery on July 13. It’s a great, great feeling to be less than two weeks from launch” He had previously declared that NASA would have the final word on the safety of the Discovery launch irrespective of the decision of any panel or committee setup by the government.

Discovery will carry seven astronauts to the international space station, along with sorely needed supplies and replacement parts. NASA would keep the backup shuttle Atlantis prepared if anything happens to the Shuttle during the launch. The Astronauts would be moved on to the International Space Station.