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Thisstory was updated at 4:51 p.m. ET.
Theash clouded cover belched by an erupting volcano in Iceland might have disrupted airtraffic over majority of Europe, but it poses no hazard to NASAs programmed Mondaylanding of space convey Discovery, group officials said.
WhenDiscovery reenters the Earths ambience Monday morning, it will be flyingover the northern Pacific Ocean on a march that will take it over majority ofNorth America prior to it is due to land at NASAs Kennedy Space Center inFlorida at 8:58 a.m. EDT (1258 GMT).
Thattrajectory is well transparent of the ash clouded cover from Iceland"sEyjafjallaj�kull volcano, that has caused the misfortune tellurian air trafficdisruption ever seen, solely during vital wars, according to press reports.
Thatsmoke clouded cover will not means Discovery any sort of issues during the reentry onMonday, NASA orator Josh Byerly pronounced Saturday during missioncommentary.
Discoverywill reenter the Earths ambience far to the easterly of the regions of Europeand Middle East where the goods of the volcanic ash clouded cover have been the majority severe,Byerly said. The space convey will proceed reentering the ambience at a pointover the northern Pacific Ocean about 650 miles (1,046 km) south of the AleutianIslands nearby Alaska, he added.
Discoveryundocked from the International Space Station early Saturday and iswrapping up a 14day mission that delivered scarcely 8 tons of load to theorbiting laboratory. The convey is returning about 3 tons of rabble andunneeded equipment behind to Earth. [Photosfrom Discoverys Apr 5 launch.]
Byerlysaid Discoverys sevenastronaut organisation and the 6 astronauts vital aboard theInternational Space Station have not been means to essentially see Iceland"sEyjafjallaj�kull volcano due to desire of their orbit. Iceland is at alatitude as well far north on Earth for the astronauts on Discovery and hire tosee it from their particular orbits, he added.
Thespace hire typically flies in an circuit slanted about 51.6 degrees withrespect to Earths equator and at an climb of about 220 miles (354 km).
Thereis a possibility that the organisation on the hire might have been means to get a little imagesof the mist that is over tools of Europe, Byerly said. But so far,the convey and the hire crews haven"t" been means to see any of the remnantsof that volcano, majority less the volcano itself since their circuit doesnt takethem high sufficient to cranky over that piece of the world.
SeveralNASA satellites, however, have been monitoring the volcanos tear and ashcloud closely to magnitude their power and goods on the environment.
Inaddition to formulating drawn out air trade woes on Earth, the Eyjafjallaj�kullvolcanos ash clouded cover has led to somespectacular sunsets in tools of the world.
Scientistshave pronounced the tear is still as well small to have a significantimpact on Earths climate, but could have a incomparable outcome if the eruptionsin Iceland go on or get bigger.
Meanwhile,Discovery and the organisation are scheming for a Monday alighting to hang up what hasbeen a bustling space mission difficult by receiver malfunctions and gummy boltsand valves of all sizes.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Whenthe astronauts reenter the ambience Monday morning, they will be drifting whathas turn a singular moody form over majority of North America and the UnitedStates in what NASA moody controllers call a forward nodeprofile. NASA has tended to equivocate drifting over land as majority as probable sincethe 2003 Columbia accident, that widespread waste over majority of Texas andsurrounding regions when that convey pennyless detached during reentry due to heatshield damage.
Discovery"sheat shield, however, is in tiptop figure and engineers privileged the shuttleSaturday for the arriving reentry and landing.
Byerlysaid earlybird skywatchers in North America will get a provide if they climb inthe sunrise to try to glance Discoverys plasma route opposite the sky duringits Monday reentry.
Itis a once in a lifetime opportunity, Byerly said.
Top 10 Extreme Planet Facts Images Iceland Volcanos Fiery Sunsets Will the Iceland Volcano Change the Climate?is on condition that finish coverage of Discoverys STS131 mission to theInternational Space Station with Managing Editor Tariq Malik and Staff WriterClara Moskowitz formed in New York. Clickhere for convey mission updates and a couple to NASA TV.
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