Reports Of Large Amount Of Debris During Launch
NASA says a larger-than-normal amount of ice or foam may have
come off Endeavour's external fuel tank during Wednesday's launch,
and the crew will spend at least a part of the day Thursday
inspecting the spacecraft's heat shield system for damage.
File Photo
"This is the most we have seen on a shuttle launch during
daylight," said Bill Gerstenmeier, NASA's associate administrator
for space shuttle operations.
ABC News is reporting that video from Endeavour's fuel tank
camera show at least a dozen pieces of debris falling away as the
spacecraft traveled to orbit. There is normally some debris during
a launch, but NASA official said this was more than they usually
see.
After Columbia was lost on re-entry,
shuttle crews regularly check the spacecraft's heat-absorbing tiles
after launch and before landing. They use a camera at the end of
the shuttle's robotic arm to go over the underside of the
spacecraft, and it will be visually inspected by the ISS crew
before docking. The vehicle performs a slow back flip in sight of
the space station so crewmembers can get a good look at and
photograph the tiles.
If there is damage that needs repair, the shuttle crew carries
several systems for that purpose. One is the notorious so-called
'Goop' that can be laid into the tiles rather like grouting your
bathroom floor, a challenge in a pressure suit.
The damage did not appear to be serious on initial inspection.
ABC reports that Endeavour's astronauts were informed shortly after
they reached orbit.
"At about 107 seconds during ascent, we did see some debris
events," said Capcom Alan Poindexter. "Impacts were observed on the
underside of the forward part of the right wing, similar to, but
less severe than damage on previous flights."
File Photo
Endeavour is scheduled to dock with ISS on Friday afternoon. The
mission is scheduled for 16 days and will include 5 spacewalks to
deliver and install the final segment to the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.
Two platforms will be attached to the outside the Japanese
module. One platform is permanent and will allow experiments to be
directly exposed to space. The other is an experiment storage
pallet that will be detached and returned with the shuttle. During
the mission, Kibo's robotic arm will transfer three experiments
from the pallet to the exposed platform. Future experiments also
can be moved to the platform from the inside of the station using
the laboratory's airlock.