Infern0
Banned
the shuttle has far outlived it's usefulness IMO (i dont belive it was designed to be in service as long as it has? correct me if im wrong)
is it time to build a new shuttle? or is space exploration and development just not as important to us now?
discuss
is it time to build a new shuttle? or is space exploration and development just not as important to us now?
discuss
A 9cm gouge in space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield appears to have penetrated its thermal tiles and reached the shuttle's belly.
A grapefruit-sized piece of insulating foam broke free from Endeavour's fuel tank and struck the ship as it launched from Florida on Wednesday.
NASA is now considering whether a risky spacewalk is needed to repair the gouge before the shuttle returns to Earth's atmosphere, the Associated Press reports
Debris flies from shuttles at every launch, but the US space agency has taken steps to curb the problem since shuttle Columbia disintegrated while returning to Florida in 2003, killing the seven astronauts on board.
That accident was blamed on a briefcase-sized piece of flying tank foam that struck Columbia's wing during launch and put a sizable hole in the heat shield.
The damage went undetected, which is why NASA now conducts at least three damage inspections during each flight, including the photos taken by the station crew as the shuttle approaches for docking.
The shuttle is covered with ceramic heat-resistant tiles and carbon panels to protect its aluminium skin from melting during the plunge back through the atmosphere for landing. Temperatures around the damage site can reach up to 1,093 degrees Celsius.
NASA officials also had good news about the main US computer on the space station, which suddenly crashed at the weekend, forcing backup computers to take over.
Station flight director Joel Montalbano said the crash appeared to be a software problem and, after trouble-shooting, the computer would be returned to operation.
While NASA dealt with the two problems, astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams completed the main task of Endeavour's mission by bolting a new beam on to the space station during a six-hour spacewalk.
Installation of the 3.4-metre and two-tonne aluminium extension was another step toward planned completion of the $US100 billion ($NZ134 billion) international project by 2010.
Endeavour is scheduled to return to Earth on August 19 but NASA has said it may extend the mission by three days.
The shuttle crew includes teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan, the backup to fellow teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died in the 1986 after-launch explosion of shuttle Challenger.
With Reuters