NASA roars to life; debris causes concern

A 1 1/2-inch piece of tile came off from around a particular vulnerable spot.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA skipped the customary post-launch party Tuesday. The celebrating will have to wait until Discovery and its seven astronauts are safely home.

After all, Columbia looked as if it was home free until it shattered on its return to Earth in 2003.

"The first thing you learn as a student pilot is that the flight's not over until the engine is shut off and the airplane's tied down," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said after Discovery lifted off on the first shuttle flight since the disaster 2 1/2 years ago. "Twelve more days, plus, before we achieve that state, and that's when we'll know that this was a safe flight."

With American pride and the future of space exploration itself hanging in the balance, Discovery rose from its pad at 10:39 a.m. into a hazy blue sky, skirted two decks of clouds and headed out over the ocean in the most scrutinized launch in NASA history.

Two chase planes and more than 100 cameras documented the ascent from every possible angle to capture any sign of flying debris of the sort that doomed Columbia, and well fter the shuttle had settled into orbit, NASA officials said that an object believed to be a 1 1/2-inch piece of thermal tile appeared to break off from the Discovery's belly during liftoff. It hit near a particularly vulnerable spot, near the compartment that contains the nose landing gear.

Also, a large object -- perhaps a piece of foam insulation -- seemed to fly off from the giant external fuel tank but did not hit the shuttle itself, NASA flight operations manager John Shannon said.

"The big question is, what is that?" Shannon said. He said it is too early to say whether the debris poses any danger to the shuttle. Shannon said the cameras have provided the space agency with more detailed images than it has ever seen before, and it not clear whether the debris is anything out of the ordinary.

Also, Shannon disclosed that the nose cone of the fuel tank hit a bird during the liftoff.

NASA promptly notified Discovery commander Eileen Collins of the debris and said the agency's image-analysis experts were looking at the pictures frame by frame and would have more information Wednesday morning.

In addition, the astronauts will use a new 50-foot boom to inspect their ship on Wednesday, and the crew of the international space station will photograph all sides of Discovery before Thursday's linkup between the two.

The baffling fuel gauge problem that thwarted a launch attempt two weeks ago did not recur this time, and the countdown was remarkably smooth. If the sensor had acted up during the countdown, NASA had been prepared to bend its safety rules to get the shuttle flying.

At the Kennedy Space Center, about 2,500 NASA guests, including first lady Laura Bush and brother-in-law Gov. Jeb Bush, cheered, whistled and clapped as the shuttle lifted off, watching through sunglasses as it soared out over the Atlantic. The spectators included members of Congress as well as relatives of the 14 fallen Columbia and Challenger astronauts.

Across the country, Americans watched the liftoff, cheering and applauding in New York's Times Square as the Discovery roared away from the launch pad.