Big job over, shuttle crew still looking to stars

Collins, left, and Coleman during an interview from Columbia on Saturday   INTERACTIVE LIVE: Shuttle Telemetry Clickable Chandra  ALSO: In-Depth: Apollo 11 at 30 Shuttle launched: One giant leap for womankind QUICKTIME Friday's shuttle launch 40 sec. 3.5 mb QuickTime movie Please enable Javascript NASA animation of Chandra deployment from shuttle cargo bay 1.1 mb QuickTime movie Please enable Javascript

July 24, 1999
Web posted at: 1:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT)

In this story: Seeing objects close to the sun 'Never scared' 'Women have given me a boost' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- With their primary mission complete, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia didn't exactly rest on Saturday. But the five astronauts did enjoy a more leisurely pace, allowing time for the first woman to lead a space mission to answer questions.

Shuttle commander said she was "extremely happy" when she and her crew reached orbit, and she was even happier when the $1.5 billion Chandra Observatory -- the world's most powerful X-ray telescope -- was safely set adrift on Friday.

"It was an unbelievably beautiful sight," added astronaut Cady Coleman during an interview with CNN. Coleman, an Air Force colonel, had overall responsibility for the release of Chandra into space.

On Saturday, the crew began using a smaller, onboard observatory to gather images of planets inside Earth's solar system. Astronaut Steven Hawley took ultraviolet snapshots of Jupiter using the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System, a telescope-camera combination.

Seeing objects close to the sun

The imaging system being used by astronomer- astronaut Hawley is considered a complement to larger observatories like Chandra and the Hubble Space Telescope because of its ability to look at objects close to the sun.

Columbia lifted off on Friday after two scheduled launches were canceled

The system was first used in August 1997 to capture more than 400,000 images of the Hale-Bopp comet, which the Hubble could not observe at times because the sun's glare obscured it.

Though less sensitive than the Hubble, the ultraviolet system also has a field of view about 30 times wider than its bigger cousin.

Over the course of Columbia's mission, Hawley is expected to gather images of Mercury, Venus and Earth's moon. He is also set to use the telescope-camera to search for evidence of vulcanoids, a belt of small, asteroid-like bodies which scientists believe encircles Mercury.

Meanwhile, ground controllers finished powering up Chandra's instruments late Friday. Next up for the 45-foot telescope is a small rocket burn tonight to adjust its orbit, the first of several such corrections over the next nine days.

After three to four weeks of instrument calibrations, Chandra will transmit its first images back to Earth.

'Never scared'

While Friday's release of Chandra went flawlessly, Columbia's eight-minute climb to orbit produced tense moments. A short circuit five seconds into the flight knocked out a controller on two of the three main engines; backup controllers immediately took over on the engines.

"It was very similar to a malfunction that would have been given to us in a simulator," Collins told CNN. "I felt very confident throughout the ascent."

Coleman, alongside Collins in zero gravity for the interview from Columbia's flight deck, said she was "never scared. I knew we would get into space."

When Columbia lifted into orbit, the VIP viewing area at the Kennedy Space Center was brimming with women aviation pioneers -- including Jerrie Cobb, the first woman to endure the rigorous testing for the space missions in the early 1960s.

'Women have given me a boost'

Asked if the pride of other women added to pressure on her, Collins said no.

"Absolutely not, just the opposite," the Air Force colonel told CNN. "Women have given me a boost. If not for Jerrie Cobb, I don't think women would be in the space program."

The first woman in space was a Russian, Valentina Tereshkova, who blasted off in 1963. The United States sent up its first woman, Sally Ride, in 1983.

As for Collins' place in history as the first woman to lead a space mission, she said she was too busy with the present to consider the future.

"I guess I'll have to worry about history a little bit later," she said.

The other members of the crew are Jeff Ashby, a U.S. Navy captain, and Michel Tognini, a French air force colonel. After a five-day shuttle mission, Columbia is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center late Tuesday.

Correspondent Miles O'Brien and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.