Engineers investigating damaged shuttle thermal blanket
Posted: Wed, Aug 3, 2005, 8:43 AM ET (1243 GMT)
NASA shuttle managers said late Tuesday they are studying what appears to be a debris hit on a thermal blanket near the front windows of the shuttle, and may decide to fix the damage to avoid problems on reentry. Officials said that photos show that a thermal blanket just below the front windows of Discovery appear to have been hit by debris during launch and has "puffed up". While the damage appears to be minor, engineers are concerned that damaged portions of the blanket could flake off during reentry and strike other portions of the orbiter. Managers said they expect to make a decision later this week on what work, if any, will be needed to fix the blanket.
NASA shuttle managers said late Tuesday they are studying what appears to be a debris hit on a thermal blanket near the front windows of the shuttle, and may decide to fix the damage to avoid problems on reentry. Officials said that photos show that a thermal blanket just below the front windows of Discovery appear to have been hit by debris during launch and has "puffed up". While the damage appears to be minor, engineers are concerned that damaged portions of the blanket could flake off during reentry and strike other portions of the orbiter. Managers said they expect to make a decision later this week on what work, if any, will be needed to fix the blanket.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, September 21
A legacy, two failures & some questions
The Times of India — 5:44 am ET (0944 GMT) ESA Acknowledges Ariane 6 Delays Following Reports of Turbopump Issue
Essence — 5:38 am ET (0938 GMT) Thousands of planned launches, terms of deal, worry some near Louisiana SpaceX site
NPR — 5:36 am ET (0936 GMT) The data goes to space. But the law remains murky
Korea Herald — 5:34 am ET (0934 GMT) Explore Spaceport America during its free open house
KTSM-TV El Paso — 5:33 am ET (0933 GMT) |
