Work Lamp Falls Onto Fuel Tank, Leaves Impressions In Foam

As if they didn't have enough to worry about... NASA engineers are now dealing with another mishap at the Kennedy Space Center. Earlier this week, as technicians were replacing one of the external fuel tank's problematic fuel sensors, a halogen work lamp fell onto the tank and hit the tank's relatively fragile foam insulation.

Preliminary inspections show the impact left five small indentations in the foam, with the largest being about the size of a stick of gum. A 6" to 7" scratch was also seen in the foam, said Lockheed Martin spokesperson Marion LaNasa to Reuters.

LaNasa added the incident is not expected to impact the targeted July 1 launch date for the shuttle Discovery, although a detailed inspection is now underway.

The affected area of the tank is not one of the sections that were redesigned following the 2003 Columbia disaster, or again after the July 2005 Discovery flight that showed additional problems with the tank's foam insulation.

NASA has a series of wind tunnel tests and analyses planned before the tank is signed off to fly on the next launch of Discovery -- while technicians around Kennedy are treading extra carefully after a string of mishaps over the past month have resulted in damage to the shuttle's remote manipulator arm,  as well as the death of a worker.

FMI: www.nasa.gov