01-March-2006, 12:13 AM
|
 |
Senior Member
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 11,429
|
|
CNN (AP): 16 chunks of foam fell off Discovery
Quote:
NASA says 16 pieces of foam insulation broke off the fuel tank of the space shuttle Discovery during its launch last July, offering many chances for harming the spacecraft in the same way Columbia was doomed three years ago.
It's the first time the space agency has put a number on the pieces of foam that snapped off during liftoff last year in the first flight since the Columbia disaster.
|
CNN: NASA aiming for May launch window
Quote:
While none of the debris appeared to damage the orbiter, the unresolved debris issue added more uncertainty about the aging shuttle fleet's future.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin ordered that engineers fix the problem before another shuttle flight.
A piece of foam that damaged the shuttle Columbia's wing doomed that spacecraft, and led to the deaths of seven astronauts on its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
"Just to make it perfectly clear to you, foam will still come off the tank after we have done all these mitigation efforts," Hale said. "What we have done is worked off all large pieces. We believe the pieces that come off will be small, definitely smaller than a matchbox.
|
__________________
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ...
|