Foam Crack Determined Not Serious
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.03.06 2100 EDT: It's a go! After
deliberating for most of the day, NASA scientists ruled late Monday
night that despite finding a shallow crack in the foam insulation
surrounding the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, it is not
enough to forestall Tuesday's planned launch of the
orbiter.
Currently, there is a 60 percent of favorable launch weather for
tomorrow and a 40 percent chance of favorable weather for
Wednesday.
EARLIER REPORTS
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.03.06 1330 EDT: Wait and see. That's the
latest decision from NASA on the possibility a crack found in the
insulating foam of the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank
could force another delay in the planned launch of the space
shuttle Discovery Tuesday.
NASA's deputy shuttle program manager, John Shannon, said in a
press conference Monday afternoon that the crack formed in the foam
surrounding an expansion bracket that holds the left feed line to
the external tank's LOX tank. The joint is designed to allow for
expansion and contraction as the tank is fueled and, if necessary,
detanked.
NASA believes the five-inch long, 1/8" wide crack formed after
fuel was detanked after Sunday's launch was postponed due to
rain.
Shannon said the working theory at the moment is that rain or
condensation got into the crack sometime Sunday, and froze when it
contacted the super-cooled feed line. The crack then expanded as
the moisture later warmed, and pressure built up under the
surrounding foam.
NASA scientists were not aware of the problem, Shannon said,
until Monday morning when a small triangular chunk of foam (above)
actually fell on the shuttle's rotating launch platform during an
inspection, alerting scientists to the problem.
Shannon reports the shuttle Mission Management Team (MMT) will
meet Monday evening at 6:30 EDT, at which time they are expected to
make a final decision regarding Tuesday's launch. So, at the
moment, the launch is still on.
Should NASA determine the crack needs to be repaired, the launch
would have to be delayed for at least 24 hours in order to give
crews time to construct a platform around the affected area of the
tank, so repair crews can mend the crack.
ORIGINAL REPORT
NASA inspectors have found a five-inch long crack in the
insulating foam covering a liquid oxygen line aboard the space
shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, leading to speculation the
long-awaited second Return to Flight mission might suffer another
long delay.
The crack was discovered during a routine overnight inspection
after the second attempt to launch STS-121 was scrubbed because of
weather.
NASA managers are meeting at this hour to determine the risk
posed to the shuttle by this latest discovery -- which could lead
them to call off the launch, now scheduled for tomorrow.