Getting your player ready...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An astronaut who was bumped from space shuttle Discovery’s final flight after a bicycle crash told his orbiting friends Friday that he’s with them “in spirit.”
Injured last month, Timothy Kopra hobbled on crutches into Mission Control and called Discovery’s six astronauts, congratulating them on “an awesome launch” and wishing them well.
Discovery’s astronauts spent their first full day in orbit operating a 100-foot, laser- tipped rod to take a close look at the shuttle wings and nose of NASA’s most traveled spaceship. The inspections became mandatory following the 2003 Columbia disaster.
