Space Shuttle Discovery launched on time at 19:43 EDT without any issues.
Upon initial review of early ascent imagery, mission managers did not see anything out of the ordinary with debris at launch. "
We didn't see anything at all in the first quick look," noted Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Space Operations, during the post-launch news conference. "
I've seen a lot of launches," commented Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach during the conference, "and this was the most visibly beautiful launch I've ever seen."
After reaching orbit, the STS-119 crew got to work on their orbit operations, opening the payload bay doors, deploying the Ku band antenna, and activating and checking out the shuttle's robotic arm.
The crew also downlinked the imagery taken of the external tank separation.
Space Shuttle Discovery launched on time at 19:43 EDT without any issues. Upon initial review of early ascent imagery, mission managers did not see anything out of the ordinary with debris at launch. "We didn't see anything at all in the first quick look," noted Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Space Operations, during the post-launch news conference. "I've seen a lot of launches," commented Launch Director Michael D. Leinbach during the conference, "and this was the most visibly beautiful launch I've ever seen." After reaching orbit, the STS-119 crew got to work on their orbit operations, opening the payload bay doors, deploying the Ku band antenna, and activating and checking out the shuttle's robotic arm. The crew also downlinked the imagery taken of the external tank separation.
STS-119