Avi Blizovsky
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The astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery on flight STS-114 performed additional tests of the shuttle's heat shield on Friday. They use the sensor arm attached to the shuttle's robotic arm to take close-up pictures of pre-selected areas of particular interest. Based on the analyzes so far, it does not appear that Discovery sustained any damage that would prevent it from landing safely on August 7. Initial findings show that Discovery has less damage than the shuttles suffered in previous flights.
And in the meantime, NASA leaders said that they believe that at least one piece of the insulation foam could have damaged the wing of the space shuttle, but they say that they are confident that the shuttle will be able to return safely. The program's deputy director, Wayne Hale, said new photographic evidence revealed damage to one of the wings. However, he said there is a variety of opinions at NASA as to whether the foam even hit the wing. "There are 11 pieces of evidence of potential damage," said Steve Paulus, director of the department that oversees the shuttle in orbit. "There are four areas on the front of the wing where there could have been an impact." said.
Hale said he does not believe the impact caused any damage to the shuttle. The heads of NASA also said that the shuttle Atlantis can be launched as part of a rescue operation and is in the ready state, but we are not even close to using it."
The agency has suspended all future flights until it finds an effective way to stop the foam falling from the outer tank during launch. However, the operations to check the surface of the ferry are expected to continue for several days. Concerns about the structural integrity of the Discovery began following video footage of the launch that showed foam falling on the shuttle a few minutes after launch, during the climb to orbit.
Before entering the station, on Thursday at noon Israel time, Discovery performed a 360-degree inversion, to allow the station's staff an opportunity to point large lenses at the lower part of the shuttle. The digital images were transmitted to the Johnson Space Center in Houston to allow engineers to work.
The station's crew members, Sergey Crikleev and John Phillips warmly welcomed the shuttle's seven crew members led by Commander Eileen Collins. Upon arrival, the astronauts immediately began transferring the 15 tons of supplies from the shuttle to the space station.
During Tuesday's launch, at least three pieces of foam fell from Discovery, including one measuring 80 by 35 centimeters, slightly smaller than the one that caused the Columbia disaster. "We may never be able to reduce the amount of fallout from the fuel tank to zero," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. "We are trying to bring it down to a level that will not cause damage to the ferry.
Among the immediate concerns are signs of tile damage near the shuttle's front passenger seat and a square tile closer to the shuttle's rear. NASA wants to determine if a compromise was made in these places that could prevent Discovery's return to Earth, which is expected as mentioned on August 7. Three spacewalks are planned for this mission. The first will be during Shabbat when a test will be carried out in the field of the repair kits that were designed to repair small areas in the heat protection tile system. Two additional spacewalks are intended for repairs and installation of essential equipment outside the space station.
For news at the BBC
Special project: photo gallery of the external fuel tank as it separates from the shuttle and falls back to Earth. In these pictures you can clearly see the places where the insulation foam fell.
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