NASA says debris may have damaged Discovery during launch

NASA launched space shuttle Discovery on Tuesday morning at 10:39 a.m. local time but apparently there were some pieces of debris that may have damaged a thermal tile.

Also, NASA video revealed what appeared to be a sizable piece of material _ maybe a chunk of insulation _ coming off the shuttle's external fuel tank two minutes into flight. It did not strike the orbiter that carries the seven astronauts, the NASA manager said. Other agency footage showed covers flying off Discovery's thrusters _ something expected to happen.

The space agency says they will take a few days to investigate whether the shuttle has any damage and decide how to deal with it. More details at WashingtonPost.

Lets hope the Columbia scenario doesn't repeat.