spacetoday.net: NASA to investigate shuttle arm mishap

Posted: Sat, Mar 18, 2006, 10:06 AM ET (1506 GMT)
NASA

NASA announced Friday that is has convened a board to investigate a mishap at the Kennedy Space Center that damaged the shuttle Discovery's robotic arm, one of a number of accidents that have occurred at the Kennedy Space Center in recent weeks. According to NASA, on March 4 workers in a "bridge bucket" work platform bumped into the arm while performing work inside Discovery's cargo bay. The collision created two indentations in the arm's outer surface, one of which cracked the carbon fiber composite structure underneath. The arm is being shipped back to the manufacturer for repairs. A final report by the five-member board is expected this summer. The accident is one of a number of mishaps that have taken place at KSC since the first of the year, including a "near-disastrous" small fire on the roof of the VAB last week, which prompted KSC director James Kennedy to call a "safety timeout" Thursday afternoon. Despite the renewed attention to safety, a roofer died Friday when he fell off a warehouse at the center.