Golf-Ball Sized Hail Damages Shuttle

MattSparkes writes "The Shuttles March launch has been delayed to late April after golf-ball sized hail caused 7000 pits and divots in the foam that shields the fuel tank. NASA say it's the worst damage of its kind that they have ever seen, but hail is not a new problem for the agency. In 1982, a hailstorm damaged the sensitive heat shield tiles on the Columbia's wings. The damaged tiles then absorbed about 540 kilograms of rain. Once in space, the orbiter faced the Sun to allow the tiles to dry out."

Comments

liars, touts & shills, o my

[Anonymous Coward]

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you call this weather?

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we the peepoles?

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i did not read other comments

[mapkinase]

but I do not care if I will be one of many:

Once in space, the orbiter faced the Sun to allow the tiles to dry out."

LOL

540 kilograms of rain...

[swatthatfly]

The damaged tiles then absorbed about 540 kilograms of rain Not to be anal but you cannot measure a liquid in kilograms, especially in a summary to a technical article. I know that most of the Slashdot crowd is not proficient in metric measurements (sigh...) but just in case you care, it should have been "540 liters".