Discovery crew confirms that the objective of the mission have been achieved

Astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery have confirmed that they have achieved the key goals of their mission. This means that the crew has managed to put NASA back on the road to recovery after the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster.

Discovery astronaut Piers Sellers said in a statement, which was released to the media: “We were all hoping in NASA for two things to come out of (this flight). The first thing is that the shuttle would fly with no problems, no big dings on ascent … and we seem to have achieved that.”

He further said: “The second thing is that we would leave (the space) station in good shape and ready to pick up the assembly sequence. I think we’re there now.”

Space Shuttle pilot Mike Kelly added his views: “My brother put it very well. He said ‘We’re back, baby.’” This mission to the International Space Station is just the second one after the Columbia disaster, which killed all the astronauts on board.