Excitement is building at NASA as the launch date for the next shuttle flight, the first one since the Columbia disaster almost two years ago, approaches. Discovery is scheduled to fly a 13 day mission and as reported in this article will involve testing procedures for checking and repairing damage to the wings and underbelly of the spacecraft. The new fuel tank, which was delivered last week, is designed not to shed the dangerous insulation that caused the Columbia disaster but I guess it unfortunately does not come with free roadside assistance if it breaks down. The new procedures will help if the astronauts have to get out and look under the hood themselves.

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