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HomeMy WebLinkAboutShuttle-1 ~.__ r. _. ,w-.JIl.?'I......ol ,..,..., -... - ......... .-:-----.~- ~~ - ,)!~.... Thursday, July 6, 2006 . Ion Shuttle passes initial check NASA still poring over video By SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press orbital outpost - unlike last year's daring spacewalk fIXes. Deputy shuttle program manager John Sharmon said Wednesday evening that the. redesigned sections of the. external fuel tank held up well during the launch, and that little if any foam came off. those areas. "We do not have nearly the issues" as compared to Dis. covery's previous flight, Sharmon said. He said there was a sense that overall the space shuttle program was HOUSTON - Early inspec. tions revealed no major dam. age to the space shuttle Dis- covery, NASA said Wednes. day after a day of checking out the spacecraft with on- board cameras. That means that when the shuttle meets' up with the International Space Station Thursday morning it likely won't need emergency repairs while hooked up with the . - theea Ie. com AP photo In this Image from NASA TV, a camera mounted on the space shuttle Discovery's robot arm shows the docking port In the cargo bay Wednesday. The shuttle Is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Thursday. back in business. a Wednesday evening news "It's a great feeling," Shan. conference. non, chairman of the mission management team, said after See SHUTTLE, Page A9 " Sh ttl fmished poring over 70 min. wing of Discovery showed U e utes of video that astronauts whitish splotches on the black shot using an extended boom coating. When Ceccacci saw armed with a laser and cam. that in Mission Control, he I From A 7 eras to inspect Discovery's del. said he laughed. That's be- icate reinforced carbon wing cause three weeks earlier he Wednesday's inspection by and nosecone. had noticed the same splotches the astronauts uncovered a It took Discovery's crew on Discovery as it sat awaiting thermal tile filler poking about more than six hours to get 70 launch. He said they looked a half-inch out of the belly of minutes of video because they like bird droppings from a dis. Discovery. Sharmon said bet- had to move the boom slowly lance of about 10 feet. ter data should be available so not to bump the fragile shut. "We didn't touch anything if Thursday but for now, engl. tie skin_ that's what you're asking," neers do not believe the dan. In 2003, a piece of foam insu. Ceccacci told reporters, draw. gling fabric will pose a danger lation from the shuttle's exter- ing a big laugh. for re-entry or require space- nal tank knocked a hole in a Ceccacci said the imagery walking repairs, as it did last wing during launch, causing experts will study the splotch. summer when two similar Columbia to disintegrate as it es to be sure they're harmless. strips had to be removed in returned home for a landing. If that's what they are, "it'll orbit. And last year, fIlm captured burn up," during the return This so-called gap filler damage during the fIrst space from space, he said. There dates back to 1982 and is in an flight after Columbia, requir- wasn't enough heat during area where the thermal tiles ing a special on.the.bellyemer. launch to get rid of the residue. are fairly thick, Sharmon said. gency repair spacewalk. He also said that a Additional gap fillers might be Engineers will painstaking. prelaunch problem involving loose as well and may be spot. ly go over Wednesday's images a thruster heater should be ted by the.space station crew of Discovery-and others shot fIxed by Thursday when it's when the shuttle closes in for by cameras during Tuesday's needed for the delicate ffance docking, he said. launch from various locations of docking the shuttle with the Photos showed two areas of - and report any possible loss. space station. The two will _=alLfoam,Joss"",,round,..th~s_ofofemn from?the~tank'1lr~y-cunnected-at~east'untu--.~ controversial ice frost ramps, damage points on the shuttle. July 14. but the foam.loss was too smalJ So far the list of "areas of inter. The mission for Discovery's and too late to be a danger to est" for possible damage is crew is to test shuttle-inspec- the shuttle, Shannon said. Last empty, lead. flight director tion techniques, deliver sup- month NASA's safety director Tony Ceccacci said in an early plies to the international space and chief engineer recom.- afternoon news conference. station and drop off European mended against launch until "We have a very clean vehi. Space Agency astronaut the area around those ramps de," Ceccacci said. Thomas Reiter for a six.month was fIxed. A repair plan is still Clean except for what looks stay. Astronauts Piers Sellers being designed.. like powerful bird droppings. and Fossum plan to carry out. Engineers are nowhere near The fIrst video of the right two spacewalks. " - .~~ -~~ "'="