Astronauts of Discovery start shuttle inspections

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The crew of Discovery began their first full day in space Wednesday with one of the most comprehensive in-flight inspections of any shuttle flight.\nAs they hurtled toward a Thursday rendezvous with the international space station, the astronauts maneuvered a 50-foot boom with cameras attached to inspect Discovery's right wing for any damage from debris during liftoff.\nLive video of Discovery's Independence Day launch had showed some small chunks of debris falling from the external fuel tank, at least one chunk hitting the shuttle.\nUsing new inspection techniques implemented after the 2003 Columbia disaster, the astronauts on Wednesday were taking even more images of the shuttle's wings and nose cap with laser, digital and video cameras that can spot damage as small as an eighth of an inch.\n"We can detect very, very small damage indeed," said Wayne Hale, shuttle program manager. Several hours after the launch Tuesday, he had said: "We saw nothing that gives us any kind of concern about the health of the crew or the vehicle."\nThe seven-member Discovery crew awoke early Wednesday to sounds of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," sometimes referred to as the black national anthem.\n"That one is particularly dear to my heart because ... after the day of our nation's independence, it's very fitting because it reminds us that anyone and everyone can participate in the space program," astronaut Stephanie Wilson, only the second black woman in space, radioed to Mission Control.\nAstronaut Mike Fossum sent Mission Control video showing him, pilot Mark Kelly and specialist Lisa Nowak in the flight deck during Tuesday's launch.\nFirst-time fliers Nowak and Fossum gave each other a gloved congratulatory handshake and thumbs up during the ascent. Once in orbit, Nowak, serving as flight engineer, took notes while Fossum and specialist Stephanie Wilson unstrapped themselves to photograph the external fuel tank as it fell away from the shuttle.\nThe Day 2 inspections, expected to take about 6 1/2 hours, were ordered after a chunk of hard insulating foam from the external fuel tank struck Columbia on lift off in 2003 and damaged its wing, allowing fiery gases to enter the spacecraft during reentry. All seven \nastronauts were killed as the shuttle broke up over Texas.\nShuttle managers said early video images of Discovery's liftoff showing small pieces of foam breaking away -- and one striking the spacecraft -- were not troubling.\nAbout three minutes after liftoff, as many as five pieces of debris were seen flying off the tank, and another piece of foam popped off a bit later, Mission Control told the crew. The latter piece struck the belly of Discovery, but NASA assured the seven astronauts it was no concern because of the timing.\nHale said Discovery was so high when the pieces came off that there wasn't enough air to accelerate the foam into the shuttle and cause damage.\nThe astronauts reported seeing what they described as a large piece of cloth tumbling away from Discovery soon \nafter reaching orbit. It looked like one of the thermal blankets that protects the shuttle, they said, but Mission Control told them it was likely ice and that a similar observation was made during Discovery's flight a year ago.\nThe mission for Discovery's crew is to test shuttle-inspection techniques, deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off \nEuropean Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter for a six-month stay. Astronauts Piers Sellers and Fossum plan to conduct two spacewalks, and possibly a third one, which would extend the mission by a day.