Repairing Shuttle Launch Pad Damage
By
Associated Press
Published: Wed, October 24, 2007 - 10:28 am
Last Updated: Wed, October 24, 2007 - 10:35 am
Last Updated: Wed, October 24, 2007 - 10:35 am
looking over their spacecraft for damage that may have occurred in
yesterday's launch.
They're using lasers to check the wings and nose.
Officials say that although six chunks of foam came off, the
debris posed no risk because the bits came off after the crucial
first two minutes.
Checks are now standard after a slab of fuel-tank foam ripped a
hole in Columbia's wing in 2003, dooming the shuttle. The crew is
also checking three wing panels for possible cracks just beneath a
protective coating. It's not known if cracks could worsen and cause
the coating to chip off, making the area more vulnerable to the
3,000-degree heat of re-entry.
Discovery is expected to reach the space station tomorrow to
start an ambitious construction mission expected to last a week and
a half.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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????? Was foam a problem in early launches - years ago? I don’t remember any such - but my memory is not what it used to be. Still, it looks to me as though NASA is dealing with a quality control/quality assurance problem on the part of those who make the fuel tanks or who make the foam?? Manufacturers all over the world are warning of this or that being potentially harmful/dangerous/etc - callbacks - at various times. Shouldn’t those involved with with fuel tank/foam be at least as responsible?
Up there, there may not be a second chance.
Doc