Holy Moley Batman! Did You See the Shuttle Lift-off?
By: RNS Newsroom Solutions
Updated: March 18, 2009
NASA says the Space Shuttle Discovery mission has been going as planned with the exception of one little winged incident.
Photos of the orbiter's blast-off from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening have revealed a most unusual possible stowaway as the shuttle got off the ground.
A report by ABC News says a bat was seen holding onto Discovery's external fuel tank as the spacecraft began its journey to the International Space Station.
Flight Director Paul Dye said photos of the shuttle taken during the launch indicate there was a tiny speck on the side of the tank. But when the pictures were enlarged, it was shown to be a bat.
Final inspection teams hoped surveys completed outside the shuttle and tank for signs of ice buildup would show the bat had awakened and flown away before the engines were ignited.
It's not clear if the rodent responded to the wakeup call from the shuttle, or if it became space-kill.
Photos of the orbiter's blast-off from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening have revealed a most unusual possible stowaway as the shuttle got off the ground.
A report by ABC News says a bat was seen holding onto Discovery's external fuel tank as the spacecraft began its journey to the International Space Station.
Flight Director Paul Dye said photos of the shuttle taken during the launch indicate there was a tiny speck on the side of the tank. But when the pictures were enlarged, it was shown to be a bat.
Final inspection teams hoped surveys completed outside the shuttle and tank for signs of ice buildup would show the bat had awakened and flown away before the engines were ignited.
It's not clear if the rodent responded to the wakeup call from the shuttle, or if it became space-kill.
