Captured On Camera 10 Seconds Into Launch

Was it a bird... or perhaps a Florida-sized mosquito? NASA engineers are fretting over a mysterious, well, something that may have impacted the nose of the shuttle Endeavour during its launch early Tuesday.

Officials wouldn't speculate on the nature of the curious debris captured on cameras 10 seconds into launch, or whether it even struck the shuttle.

"It looks like it's not coming from the orbiter, and you can't really tell if it strikes the orbiter or not," flight director Mike Moses told The Associated Press.
"I can't even begin to speculate on what it could be.

"We should let the experts do the math," Moses continued. "We got some good video that at least shows it in multiple frames so they'll be able to do a trajectory analysis to see where it came from."

Even if the debris did strike Endeavour's nose, it's not likely to have done any significant damage due to the relatively slow velocity of the shuttle at that point in its launch, Moses added.

Crewmembers onboard the orbiter spent Tuesday performing inspections of the shuttle's heat shield, using a camera mounted on the orbiter's robotic arm to sweep along the leading edges of Endeavour's wings, as well as its nose cap and the orbiter's underside. So far, nothing unusual has been noted.

More detailed images will be captured by cameras onboard the International Space Station, as the shuttle approaches to dock with the orbiting platform Wednesday night.

"By tomorrow night we should have a real good idea about the state of the orbiter," Moses said.

FMI: www.nasa.gov