Fingers Crossed, Prayers Whispered... Shuttle Returns Tomorrow

The Columbia accident was sickening and traumatizing. Remnants were found in my hometown, and the huge tires fell to the ground on a friend's farm. It is a day that remains etched in my memory, and it causes me to worry... and pray.

I found this on ABC News Online:

NASA upbeat about shuttle's return
Discovery astronauts have enjoyed their final scheduled day in space and are preparing for the shuttle's return to earth's atmosphere, the anxious phase that doomed space shuttle Columbia in 2003.
The weather forecast for the shuttle's scheduled arrival at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida today is for light winds and a slim chance of showers.
Entry flight director LeRoy Cain has cautioned that forecasts can be wrong and that the shuttle will not land in rain but said: "I see a pretty straightforward [weather] situation lining up on Monday."
The space agency has pronounced the shuttle fit to withstand the burning descent into the earth's atmosphere that shattered Columbia on February 1, 2003.
Mr Cain admitted the first return home since that tragedy, which killed seven astronauts, will bring butterflies to his stomach until the spacecraft safely rolls to a stop.
He says, however, that NASA cannot dwell on Columbia's failure.
"We're looking forward, we're not looking back," he said.

Brilliant trail
After 13 days in orbit, Discovery is set to begin its descent at 5:40pm AEST and land at 6:47pm AEST.
A second landing time of 8:22pm AEST is available if the first attempt is called off.
The first re-entry path would take Discovery over Central America and Cuba, where its brilliant trail of superheated plasma would be visible in the darkness.
The later time slot would put it over southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Alternate runways in California and New Mexico will be considered if landing is pushed back to Tuesday or Wednesday.

Landing practice
The astronauts inspected Discovery on Sunday and made pre-landing preparations before their sleep shift.
Commander Eileen Collins and pilot Jim 'Vegas' Kelly checked flight control systems and practised landings on a laptop computer.
"Discovery is in absolutely great shape," Commander Collins said in a media interview from space on Sunday, which was a partial day off for the seven-person crew.
"I'm pretty confident about the entry and I'm thinking about the landing."
Commander Collins said she had thoroughly enjoyed the mission.
"The earth is absolutely beautiful. We're having a great time with the crew," she said.
"We've done a little bit of everything on this flight and so happy to have done it, but it's time to come home and keep working on getting the shuttle better and ready to fly in the future, and time to see our families again."

Safety upgrades
Columbia was a few minutes from landing in Florida when it broke apart over Texas as superheated gases generated by re-entry penetrated its structure through a hole in the wing heat shield.
The wing had been struck by a briefcase-sized piece of insulating foam that broke loose from its external fuel tank at launch 16 days before.
NASA spent two-and-a-half years and $US1 billion making safety upgrades.
"I guess you almost have to thank the Columbia crew. The sacrifice they made allowed us to get a lot smarter about it," Mr Kelly said.
Discovery's flight began badly when loose tank foam like that which doomed Columbia was seen coming from the orbiter at the July 26 launch.
NASA quickly suspended further shuttle flights until the foam problem is solved.
Then, photographic and laser inspections of the shuttle in space, conducted for the first time as part of the new safety regime, showed minor nicks to Discovery's heat shield, two protruding cloth strips from its belly and a rip in an insulating cloth near the commander's window.
Only the protruding strips were deemed hazardous enough to warrant a fix so Dr Robinson went on an unprecedented spacewalk to remove them. He pulled them out with his gloved hand.
The damage issues overshadowed Discovery's accomplishments, which included a resupply of the International Space Station and a fix of broken gyroscopes that keep the station positioned properly.
The shuttle left the station on Saturday.
The last successful landing occurred in December 2002, when Endeavor returned safely to Florida after astronauts worked on the space station and switched out its crew.
-Reuters