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["Jerry Jeffries" <ElmerqVangt at nameplanet dot com>]

Fossett holds dozens of aviation and nautical records, including the fastest flight of a nonsupersonic airplane -- 742.02 mph (1,193.9 kph).In fact, Branson and Rutan know something about the far reaches of the atmosphere. Last year Rutan led the first manned commercial flight to reach the edge of space and was commissioned by Branson to build a spacecraft for paying passengers -- possibly within five years. Three suicide bombings and a mortar attack killed at least five people in Iraq today. At least 62 others were wounded in a wave of insurgent attacks. The violence coincides with the climax of Ashura, a major Shiite religious festivalThe CAIB made 15 recommendations to NASA on ways to improve the shuttle program.In August 2003, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board officially concluded that insulating foam flew off the shuttle's external fuel tank during liftoff, striking and cracking a panel on the orbiter's wing. Fossett holds dozens of aviation and nautical records, including the fastest flight of a nonsupersonic airplane -- 742.02 mph (1,193.9 kph).The GlobalFlyer consists of three hulls attached to a 114-foot (35-meter) wing that measures more than half the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Twin "boom" hulls on either side of the cockpit hull each carry almost 5,500 pounds of fuel. The plane is expected to reach heights of 52,000 feet (17,000 meters) and travel at speeds in excess of 250 knots (285 mph, 440 kph).Because of these restrictions there are only a limited number of opportunities to launch the space shuttle. The first starts May 15 and runs through June 3, when NASA hopes to launch Discovery. The second window opens July 12, when NASA hopes to launch Atlantis. Readdy admitted he hoped the techniques would be further along, but said that two years ago repairing the shuttle's thermal protection system while in flight was thought impossible.Both the Discovery and Atlantis missions will be test flights to the international space station to demonstrate the shuttle is once again safe to fly.According to Readdy, engineers at the Kennedy Space Center have been working hard to upgrade the space shuttles, including hardening the vehicle and preparing them for returning to space, "The vehicles look like they are brand new cars," he said."The first solo nonstop is a grand endeavor," said Fossett. "If successful, I hope to earn a place in aviation history in the legacy of Wiley Post." In 1933, Post rounded the globe after stopping eleven times in just under eight days. Fossett wants to finish -- without stopping -- in under 80 hours.The shuttle fleet has been grounded since Columbia broke apart over Texas while on landing approach to Florida's Kennedy Space Center on February 1, 2003.For this latest challenge, Fossett and his mission control team at Kansas State University face a tricky triple threat: weather, sleep deprivation and conserving precious fuel.In fact, Branson and Rutan know something about the far reaches of the atmosphere. Last year Rutan led the first manned commercial flight to reach the edge of space and was commissioned by Branson to build a spacecraft for paying passengers -- possibly within five years. The daylight launch restriction may be lifted if both Discovery and Atlantis go up without any critical debris falling off the external tank during liftoff. NASA has been testing a new radar which it claims day or night has a better eye than optical cameras for debris shedding from the external tank.In fact, Branson and Rutan know something about the far reaches of the atmosphere. Last year Rutan led the first manned commercial flight to reach the edge of space and was commissioned by Branson to build a spacecraft for paying passengers -- possibly within five years. NASA has been developing repair techniques for the space shuttle's thermal protection system for the past two years. Not all of the techniques have panned out and the Discovery crew will be testing only three potential fixes for tile instead of the five originally planned. There will be no tests on repair techniques for the reinforced carbon used on the shuttle's wings, where the hole was created in Columbia."I'd be very surprised if we had any damage as a result of debris shedding. ... We will be flying much more safely than we've ever flown before," Bill Readdy, NASA associate administrator, told reporters Friday.