Shuttle pad damaged during launch
Posted: Tue, Jun 3, 2008, 8:03 AM ET (1203 GMT)
The launch pad used for Saturday's launch of the space shuttle Discovery sustained "significant" damage during liftoff, although NASA officials said they believed the damage could be repaired in time for the next mission this October. A large section of concrete lining the pad's flame trench blew out during launch, scattering chunks of debris around the launch site, all the way to a security fence several hundred meters away. None of the debris damaged the shuttle. What caused the damage to the flame trench, the worst in the history of the shuttle program, is unclear. Both pad 39A and 39B have to be in working order for the next launch, a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, since a rescue shuttle would be prepared on the other pad.
The launch pad used for Saturday's launch of the space shuttle Discovery sustained "significant" damage during liftoff, although NASA officials said they believed the damage could be repaired in time for the next mission this October. A large section of concrete lining the pad's flame trench blew out during launch, scattering chunks of debris around the launch site, all the way to a security fence several hundred meters away. None of the debris damaged the shuttle. What caused the damage to the flame trench, the worst in the history of the shuttle program, is unclear. Both pad 39A and 39B have to be in working order for the next launch, a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission, since a rescue shuttle would be prepared on the other pad.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, July 1
Move over Starlink, here comes Kuiper
Gulf News — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) USSF Seeks Industry Ideas For Space-Based Interceptors
Aviation Week — 4:57 am ET (0857 GMT) Don’t forget about Iran’s space program
POLITICO — 4:54 am ET (0854 GMT) EU Space Act is ‘orbital equivalent of GDPR’, says lawyer
Luxembourg Times — 4:53 am ET (0853 GMT) Poland’s second ever astronaut is safe in space
Euro Weekly News — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) |
