Cracks seen in shuttle's external tank
Posted: Thu, Nov 11, 2010, 7:20 AM ET (1220 GMT)
Technicians working the space shuttle Discovery's external tank have found cracks in the tank's structure, complicating plans to complete repairs in time to permit a launch at the end of this month. Workers found the cracks in a structural member of the tank after removing cracked foam on the tank exterior. The cracks are similar to those seen in another external tank, which were repaired by installing "doublers" to reinforce the cracked element, and engineers are studying a similar approach for this problem. It's not yet known what impact, if any, this problem will have on plans to launch the shuttle when the next window opens on November 30. Engineers are also working on a separate issue, a leaking hydrogen vent line, that last week caused the launch to be pushed back to the end of the month.
Technicians working the space shuttle Discovery's external tank have found cracks in the tank's structure, complicating plans to complete repairs in time to permit a launch at the end of this month. Workers found the cracks in a structural member of the tank after removing cracked foam on the tank exterior. The cracks are similar to those seen in another external tank, which were repaired by installing "doublers" to reinforce the cracked element, and engineers are studying a similar approach for this problem. It's not yet known what impact, if any, this problem will have on plans to launch the shuttle when the next window opens on November 30. Engineers are also working on a separate issue, a leaking hydrogen vent line, that last week caused the launch to be pushed back to the end of the month.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, March 3
Self-repairing spacecraft could change future missions
ESA — 7:06 am ET (1206 GMT) UT Austin becomes first institution to help Space Force track threats
KXAN-TV — 7:01 am ET (1201 GMT) Blue Origin pays $11.5 million for Cocoa site formerly used for SpaceX ‘Starship race’
Talk of Titusville (FL) — 7:01 am ET (1201 GMT) Starlink to partner with Deutsche Telekom to launch satellite mobile service in Europe
CNBC — 6:57 am ET (1157 GMT) SpaceX Aims to Launch Upgraded Starlink Satellites in Mid-2027
Bloomberg News — 6:57 am ET (1157 GMT) |
