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Minor Damage Found On Space Shuttle

Posted by kdawson on from the just-don't-chip-the-other-one dept.

The BBC is reporting on minor damage to the space shuttle Atlantis revealed by a 10-hour inspection in orbit. On the shuttle's right side, near where the wing joins the body, inspection revealed a 21" (53cm) line of chips in the tiles that make up the vehicle's heat shield. "...more analysis by engineers would determine whether a 'focused inspection' was needed in that specific area. If so, astronauts would use sensors to determine the exact depth of the damage to the heat shield tiles. NASA has placed the space shuttle Endeavour on stand-by to rescue the crew of Atlantis if they are endangered." The crew couldn't shelter on the ISS in case of trouble, because their orbit is higher and on a different inclination.

2 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Where's the U.S. news media? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I first saw this mentioned on Twitter. Seems like only the BBC (Great Britain) is carrying the story. Haven't seen any stories on the U.S. news websites. Have the U.S. media decided that this isn't newsworthy and are waiting for a rescue mission with Space Shuttle Endeavour (a la Apollo 13)?

  2. Re:Getting to ISS by daveime · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Failure is not an option, gentlemen.

    So they managed to get Apollo 13 back from the moon 384,000 km away, but they didn't consider it "feasible" or even "sensible" to carry enough spare fuel on the shuttle to effect an orbit change to hook up with the ISS, a mere couple of hundred km away ?

    Someone want's their balls kicked at NASA, seems like every mission is a suicide mission these days.