To Check Shuttle for Damage, a Zero-Gravity Backflip

80beats
By Eliza Strickland
Jun 2, 2008 8:11 PMOct 11, 2019 1:48 PM
Discovery space shuttle backflip

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The space shuttle Discovery docked at the International Space Station this afternoon, two days after its launch through cloudless Florida skies on Saturday. But before the shuttle cozied up to the station and threw open the doors, the pilot guided the shuttle in an elegant backflip, allowing the station’s astronauts to photograph the Discovery‘s belly to check for damage.

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