Author Description

"During Memorial Day weekend in 1995, a little more than a week before the scheduled launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-70 mission, a single woodpecker made 205 holes in the soft foam insulation covering the huge external fuel tank of the Shuttle. The resulting damage led to one of the more unusual delays in the thirty year history of the Space Shuttle Program as NASA wrestled with what had happened, how to fix the damage, and how to prevent additional woodpecker attacks on its Space Shuttles in the future. Forever nicknamed 'The Woodpecker Shuttle Flight' the mission was also unique in that 4 of the 5 crewmembers assigned to the flight were from Ohio. After the governor of Ohio issued a proclamation making the fifth crewmember an 'Honorary Ohioan' this flight also became known as 'The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission.' Orbit of Discovery is an engaging first-person account of Discovery's STS-70 mission that shares the excitement, passion, adventure, accomplishments, and... fun of the Space Shuttle Program as told by four-time veteran astronaut Don Thomas."--Author's website.