Post by Tulameen on Jul 27, 2005 20:25:35 GMT -5
Jul 27, 9:14 PM EDT
NASA: No Flights Until Foam Issue Fixed
By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) -- The shuttle Discovery, like Columbia, lost a large chunk of foam debris during liftoff that could have threatened the return of the seven astronauts, NASA said Wednesday.
While there are no signs the piece of insulation damaged the spacecraft, NASA is grounding future shuttle flights until the hazard can be fixed.
"Call it luck or whatever, it didn't harm the orbiter," said shuttle program manager Bill Parsons. If the foam had broken away earlier in flight - when the atmosphere is thicker, increasing the acceleration and likelihood of impact - it could have caused catastrophic damage to Discovery.
"We think that would have been really bad, so it's not acceptable," said Parsons' deputy, Wayne Hale. He said every indication so far is that Discovery is safe for its return home.
The chunk of foam flew off Discovery's redesigned external fuel tank just two minutes after what initially looked like a perfect liftoff Tuesday morning. But in less than an hour NASA had spotted images of a mysterious object whirling away from the tank.
Mission managers did not realize what the object was - or how much havoc it would cause to the shuttle program - until Wednesday after reviewing video and images taken by just a few of the 100-plus cameras in place to watch for such dangers.
Officials do not believe the foam hit the shuttle, but they plan a closer inspection of the spacecraft in the next few days to be sure.
Discovery's astronauts were told of the foam loss before going to sleep Wednesday.
"You have to admit when you're wrong. We were wrong," Parsons said. "We need to do some work here, and so we're telling you right now that the ... foam should not have come off. It came off. We've got to go do something about that."
The loss of a chunk of debris, a vexing problem NASA thought had been fixed, represents a tremendous setback to a space program that has spent 2 1/2 years and over $1 billion trying to make the 20-year-old shuttles safe to fly.
"Until we're ready, we won't go fly again. I don't know when that might be," Parsons told reporters in a briefing Wednesday evening.
Engineers believe the foam was 24 to 33 inches long, 10 to 14 inches wide, and between 2 and 8 inches thick - only somewhat smaller than the chunk that smashed into Columbia's left wing during liftoff in 2003. The plate-sized hole let in superheated gases that caused the shuttle to break up on its return to Earth.
On Discovery, the foam broke away from a different part of the tank than the piece that mortally wounded Columbia. The tank redesigned for Discovery to reduce the risk of foam insulation falling off.
Parsons stressed that the current 12-day mission was a test flight designed to check the safety of future flights. He refused to give up on the spacecraft that was designed in the 1970s.
"We think we can make this vehicle safe for the next flight," he said, declining to judge the long-term impact on the manned space program. "We will determine if it's safe to fly."
Atlantis was supposed to lift off in September, but that mission is now on indefinite hold. Parsons refused to speculate when a shuttle might fly again, but did not rule out the possibility that Discovery's current mission may be the only one for 2005.
He said it was unlikely that Atlantis would be needed for a rescue mission, in the event Discovery could not return safely to Earth and its astronauts had to move into the international space station. Discovery, fortunately, appears to be in good shape for re-entry, he said.
In addition to the big chunk of foam, several smaller pieces broke off, including at least one from an area of the fuel tank that had been modified after Columbia. Thermal tile was also damaged on Discovery's belly; one tile lost a 1 1/2-inch piece right next to the set of doors for the nose landing gear, a particularly vulnerable spot.
Hale said none of the tile damage looked particularly serious, and likely would not require repairs in orbit.
Imagery experts and engineers expect to know by Thursday afternoon whether the gouge left by the missing piece of tile needs a second look. The astronauts have a 100-foot, laser-tipped crane on board that could determine precisely how deep the gouge is.
The tile fragment broke off less than two minutes after liftoff Tuesday and was spotted by a camera mounted on the external fuel tank.
If NASA decides to use its new inspection tool to get a 3-D view of the tile damage, the astronauts will examine the spot on Friday, a day after docking with the international space station. The inspection of Discovery's wings and nose by the inspection boom on Wednesday turned up nothing alarming, but analysis is ongoing, Hale said.
NASA: No Flights Until Foam Issue Fixed
By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) -- The shuttle Discovery, like Columbia, lost a large chunk of foam debris during liftoff that could have threatened the return of the seven astronauts, NASA said Wednesday.
While there are no signs the piece of insulation damaged the spacecraft, NASA is grounding future shuttle flights until the hazard can be fixed.
"Call it luck or whatever, it didn't harm the orbiter," said shuttle program manager Bill Parsons. If the foam had broken away earlier in flight - when the atmosphere is thicker, increasing the acceleration and likelihood of impact - it could have caused catastrophic damage to Discovery.
"We think that would have been really bad, so it's not acceptable," said Parsons' deputy, Wayne Hale. He said every indication so far is that Discovery is safe for its return home.
The chunk of foam flew off Discovery's redesigned external fuel tank just two minutes after what initially looked like a perfect liftoff Tuesday morning. But in less than an hour NASA had spotted images of a mysterious object whirling away from the tank.
Mission managers did not realize what the object was - or how much havoc it would cause to the shuttle program - until Wednesday after reviewing video and images taken by just a few of the 100-plus cameras in place to watch for such dangers.
Officials do not believe the foam hit the shuttle, but they plan a closer inspection of the spacecraft in the next few days to be sure.
Discovery's astronauts were told of the foam loss before going to sleep Wednesday.
"You have to admit when you're wrong. We were wrong," Parsons said. "We need to do some work here, and so we're telling you right now that the ... foam should not have come off. It came off. We've got to go do something about that."
The loss of a chunk of debris, a vexing problem NASA thought had been fixed, represents a tremendous setback to a space program that has spent 2 1/2 years and over $1 billion trying to make the 20-year-old shuttles safe to fly.
"Until we're ready, we won't go fly again. I don't know when that might be," Parsons told reporters in a briefing Wednesday evening.
Engineers believe the foam was 24 to 33 inches long, 10 to 14 inches wide, and between 2 and 8 inches thick - only somewhat smaller than the chunk that smashed into Columbia's left wing during liftoff in 2003. The plate-sized hole let in superheated gases that caused the shuttle to break up on its return to Earth.
On Discovery, the foam broke away from a different part of the tank than the piece that mortally wounded Columbia. The tank redesigned for Discovery to reduce the risk of foam insulation falling off.
Parsons stressed that the current 12-day mission was a test flight designed to check the safety of future flights. He refused to give up on the spacecraft that was designed in the 1970s.
"We think we can make this vehicle safe for the next flight," he said, declining to judge the long-term impact on the manned space program. "We will determine if it's safe to fly."
Atlantis was supposed to lift off in September, but that mission is now on indefinite hold. Parsons refused to speculate when a shuttle might fly again, but did not rule out the possibility that Discovery's current mission may be the only one for 2005.
He said it was unlikely that Atlantis would be needed for a rescue mission, in the event Discovery could not return safely to Earth and its astronauts had to move into the international space station. Discovery, fortunately, appears to be in good shape for re-entry, he said.
In addition to the big chunk of foam, several smaller pieces broke off, including at least one from an area of the fuel tank that had been modified after Columbia. Thermal tile was also damaged on Discovery's belly; one tile lost a 1 1/2-inch piece right next to the set of doors for the nose landing gear, a particularly vulnerable spot.
Hale said none of the tile damage looked particularly serious, and likely would not require repairs in orbit.
Imagery experts and engineers expect to know by Thursday afternoon whether the gouge left by the missing piece of tile needs a second look. The astronauts have a 100-foot, laser-tipped crane on board that could determine precisely how deep the gouge is.
The tile fragment broke off less than two minutes after liftoff Tuesday and was spotted by a camera mounted on the external fuel tank.
If NASA decides to use its new inspection tool to get a 3-D view of the tile damage, the astronauts will examine the spot on Friday, a day after docking with the international space station. The inspection of Discovery's wings and nose by the inspection boom on Wednesday turned up nothing alarming, but analysis is ongoing, Hale said.