Science and Space

space and astronomy articles.

Shuttle fleet grounded

Nasa has said it is grounding the space shuttle fleet as engineers investigate debris which fell from Discovery’s external fuel tank during launch. Nasa made the decision after experts pored over images taken by cameras on Discovery and its external tank during launch. Managers said two shielding tiles were damaged and two large pieces of foam tore away during lift-off. A large piece of foam 24-33 inches (61-84 cm) in length had peeled off an area of the fuel tank known as the Pal ramp during launch, they said. A six-inch foam chunk also fell from an area of the external tank called the liquid hydrogen intertank flange. This was an area where several modifications were made after the Columbia disaster. Wayne Hale, the shuttle’s deputy programme manager, said two heat shield tiles now appeared to be damaged on Columbia’s underside.

A rectangular tile near the nose landing gear doors appeared to be chipped and a square "chine" tile further toward the aft (back) end of Discovery also seems to have broken away. The debris did not hit the orbiter and posed no threat to the crew.

posted by: kyawoo at 00:37 | link | comments |
space shuttle

Comments: