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NASA asks spy-satellite help to check noise

Posted on: Friday, 5 December 2003, 06:00 CST

NASA asks spy-satellite help to check noise

By MARCIA DUNN Associated Press

Friday, December 5, 2003

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At NASA's request, the Pentagon is using spy satellites to check the international space station for any exterior damage that might explain the loud metallic noise heard last week by the two men on board.

The space agency learned a lesson from the Columbia disaster.

"In everybody's minds, there is, 'OK, let's make sure we don't miss something.' They're keyed up; they're more attentive than they might otherwise be," said Charles Precourt, a space shuttle commander now serving as deputy manager of NASA's space station program.

Precourt said the Defense Department had used its technology to look at the orbiting outpost since the noise was reported on Nov. 26.

Because of the classified nature of the work, he would not say whether NASA had obtained any satellite or ground telescope images so far that shed light on the problem. But he said nothing amiss had been found.

Astronaut Michael Foale and cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri -- 1 1/2 months into a six-month stay aboard the space station -- have used the spacecraft's arm and cameras to inspect the exterior of the Russian-made living quarters, but the instruments cannot peer around every corner.

Among the possible explanations given by NASA: a loose or flapping antenna or cover, or a bit of space junk that hit the station. "We're trying to nail down what the source might be," Precourt said. "As of yet, we don't have anything conclusive on that."

The two men may be asked to perform an up-close inspection during a spacewalk in February, Precourt said. But that spacewalk has not yet been approved because of concerns about leaving the station with no one inside.

Three people normally live on the space station, but the crew was reduced to two last spring because of the indefinite grounding of the shuttle fleet.

Soon after the Columbia tragedy, NASA announced an agreement with the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency for the military to routinely capture detailed satellite images of orbiting shuttles and the station.

While Columbia was in orbit, engineers had pushed for spy satellite pictures of the shuttle to check for damage from a piece of foam insulation that fell off the fuel tank during liftoff. But NASA managers refused to ask the Pentagon for help.

The shuttle broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1.

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