The Nation : Little Damage to Shuttle
NASA technicians raced to get the space shuttle Columbia ready to return to Florida in time for its next mission. They said the spacecraft was in good condition, with little damage to its heat shield tiles--only 16 tiles will have to be replaced. Columbia, scheduled for a March 6 liftoff to join an international Halley’s comet watch, is 3,000 miles away from its Kennedy Space Center launching pad in Florida. After a record seven takeoff postponements and three landing delays, Columbia landed Saturday at the Mojave Desert site of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
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