After doing what NASA calls a backflip maneuver, the space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station linked up this morning about 6:18 Central time with Iowa native Jim Kelly at the helm. Discovery docked after doing a slow somersault to allow those aboard the station to photograph the shuttle’s belly for any signs of damage. A NASA official says it appears “the orbiter is a clean bird,” meaning no damage. Future shuttle flights are grounded after a piece of foam fell off Discovery’s external fuel tank during Tuesday’s liftoff. It’s the same problem that doomed the shuttle Columbia in 2003.
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