Engineers investigating damaged shuttle thermal blanket
Posted: Wed, Aug 3, 2005, 8:43 AM ET (1243 GMT)
NASA shuttle managers said late Tuesday they are studying what appears to be a debris hit on a thermal blanket near the front windows of the shuttle, and may decide to fix the damage to avoid problems on reentry. Officials said that photos show that a thermal blanket just below the front windows of Discovery appear to have been hit by debris during launch and has "puffed up". While the damage appears to be minor, engineers are concerned that damaged portions of the blanket could flake off during reentry and strike other portions of the orbiter. Managers said they expect to make a decision later this week on what work, if any, will be needed to fix the blanket.
NASA shuttle managers said late Tuesday they are studying what appears to be a debris hit on a thermal blanket near the front windows of the shuttle, and may decide to fix the damage to avoid problems on reentry. Officials said that photos show that a thermal blanket just below the front windows of Discovery appear to have been hit by debris during launch and has "puffed up". While the damage appears to be minor, engineers are concerned that damaged portions of the blanket could flake off during reentry and strike other portions of the orbiter. Managers said they expect to make a decision later this week on what work, if any, will be needed to fix the blanket.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, June 9
Irish company secures €1 million contract with European Space Agency
Irish Times — 5:52 am ET (0952 GMT) USSF Seeking Small, Medium-Launch Providers At Vandenberg
Aviation Week — 5:49 am ET (0949 GMT) Virgin Galactic’s Shares Take Wild Ride
Orange County (CA) Business Journal — 5:47 am ET (0947 GMT) How Elon Musk’s Friendship With the F.C.C. Smooths the Way for SpaceX’s I.P.O.
New York Times — 5:46 am ET (0946 GMT) SpaceX IPO Is Well Oversubscribed With $10 Billion Orders
Bloomberg News — 5:45 am ET (0945 GMT) |
