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.

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"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."

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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.

FMI: www.nasa.gov