Discovery astronauts start their first day in orbit

Space shuttle Discovery after lift off from launch pad yesterday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. PHOTO: AFP

Discovery's crew members -- Commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Mark Kelly and mission specialists Michael Fossum, Lisa Nowak, Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter of Germany -- were to spend their first day in space testing the functioning of the shuttle's equipment, including its robotic arm.

Using the robotic arm and a camera, the crew members planned to inspect the protective heat shield on the shuttle wings' leading edge. They will also search for any damage that may have been caused by the small pieces of foam insulation that broke off in the first few minutes after launch.

The astronauts will then configure their spacesuits in preparation for two or three spacewalks after the shuttle docks with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday.

Tuesday's launch marked just the second shuttle mission since the February 2003 Columbia disaster, in which the shuttle splintered apart upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, leading to the grounding of shuttle flights for nearly two and a half years.

But NASA appeared pleased with the performance of Discovery's external fuel tank, which lost only small pieces of foam insulation Tuesday, without posing any serious threat to the shuttle's heat shield.