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Shuttle's Return to Earth Seen As Safe; Photos Show Slight Damage

Posted on: Friday, 29 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 29--High-resolution photos taken Thursday when the shuttle Discovery executed an unprecedented back flip in space showed no significant damage, indicating the orbiter should be safe to return to Earth next week, officials said.

"I don't see anything that would keep us from being able to re-enter," said Steve Poulos, manager of the shuttle operations office.

Further analysis of videotape taken during its Tuesday launch showed that a small piece of foam may have struck the orbiter's underside as it ascended, officials said. There are no signs that the foam caused any serious damage, although the photos taken Thursday showed some small nicks toward the rear of the orbiter.

It was a welcome relief a day after space agency officials grounded the remaining shuttles, citing worries about chunks of foam that flew off the shuttle's external tank during its Tuesday launch.

The photos and launch video actually showed that Discovery suffered 80 percent less damage to its underside than shuttles have averaged on previous flights. Before the Columbia accident in 2003, NASA had found that shuttles averaged about 150 debris hits, most of them well under one inch. Mission managers said they have identified 26 small marks on Discovery, none of which raises major concerns.

Even with that improvement, officials said they must remedy the problems that led to a large hunk of foam coming loose from Discovery as it took off.

The better overall number is "kind of the silver lining on the black cloud," said shuttle program deputy manager Wayne Hale. "We have got to fix this foam problem on the tank before we fly again."

A hunk of foam estimated to weigh slightly less than one pound broke off Discovery's external tank and fell clear of the orbiter as it rocketed to space, video from a camera mounted on the tank showed. NASA managers said it was mostly good luck that the foam debris on this mission did not hit the vehicle.

Reducing foam debris had been a primary goal of NASA's 2 1/2-year, $1 billion rebuilding effort after the accident that destroyed the shuttle Columbia and killed its crew in 2003.

"This is a test flight," NASA administrator Michael Griffin said in a statement Thursday. "Among the things we are testing are the integrity of the foam insulation and the performance of new camera equipment installed to detect problems. The cameras worked well. The foam did not."

Mission planners said there will not be any changes made to Discovery's busy 13-day mission. The 360-degree somersault that shuttle commander Eileen Collins carried out early Thursday was a long-planned maneuver that allowed two astronauts on the International Space Station, 600 feet away, to take dozens of pictures of the orbiter's outer skin to check for any damage.

After the maneuver the shuttle docked with the station, allowing the two crews to meet and smile for viewers back on Earth. Discovery's crew will re-supply, repair and expand the station, in addition to clearing away used supplies.

The first detailed photos from the flip gave a much closer look at a 1 1/2-in. gouge in a tile on the edge of the shuttle's nose landing gear door. Imaging experts had first noticed the scratch in video taken of the orbiter's ascent.

NASA officials said Thursday that although the gouge is not a major concern, they will want to take a closer look at it on Friday by making another pass with the shuttle's new laser-tipped mechanical arm. Any damage near the landing gear door merits attention because that area of the ship's underside is especially vulnerable to damage from hot gases during re-entry into the atmosphere.

The photos taken Thursday also revealed smaller nicks toward the rear of the orbiter, and slight blemishes to the carbon panels on the leading edges of the wings, which get some of the highest temperatures during re-entry.

Enhanced video from a camera that was mounted on Discovery's external fuel tank showed that a small piece of foam fell toward the shuttle's right wing and then abruptly turned away -- indicating that it may have struck the orbiter.

"This is the only piece that may have impacted on the orbiter," Hale said. But he added that with the images taken Thursday, "we have now cleared ourselves that there was no damage from this event if it did impact."

Hale said that although the formal decision on Discovery's readiness to return to Earth won't come until the mission's sixth day, "I expect on flight day six we're going to get approval to fly home as is."

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Source: Chicago Tribune

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