Posted on 08/06/2005 8:57:28 PM PDT by SamuraiScot
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - Space shuttle Discovery unhitched Saturday from the orbital outpost its astronauts called home for nine days, readying itself for the long, dangerous journey back to Earth.
(snip)
NASA officials, meanwhile, said they were looking into whether a small crack in the foam on Discovery's fuel tank may have caused a 1-pound section of insulation to break off during its climb to orbit. The piece of foam, which was reminiscent of the one that doomed Columbia, did not hit Discovery.
However, the large piece of foam did cause the space agency to suspend future flights until it can prevent shedding of similar pieces from the external tanks, which are used to fuel shuttle launches.
The agency also is considering whether there could have been a mistake in the foam's application. . .
NASA has already spent $1.4 billion and 2 1/2-years working on the problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Keep those people in your prayers.
Discussed here:
Back in 1997, a report on shuttle wear and maintenance by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., stated that shuttle vehicles’ fragile insulating tiles were suddenly sustaining many more scrapes and dings during missions. The damage was occurring during the launch: Chunks of hard protective foam were coming loose from the shuttle’s fuel tank. Why? The engineers suggested that it was because the formula for making the tank insulation had been changed. For the sake of environmental "friendliness," NASA had stopped using Freon in the insulation’s production. This was in deference to a politically correct but factually unproven theory that aerosol cans on earth were depleting the protective layer of ozone around the earth. The propellant in the cans contained Freon, which reacts with ozone.
After the Columbia disaster in 2003, Robert Culp, a "space debris and re-entry expert" at the University of Colorado told space.com, "Taking the Freon out made that stuff more brittle and created what became known as the 'popcorn effect,' with pieces of the insulation popping off and knocking chunks out of the tiles. They did not have problems with that insulation before they made that change," Prof. Culp said.
According to engineers, the insulation made without Freon peels off the shuttle and hits the tiles at a rate about 11-times greater than the Freon-based insulation. At the time, even such environmentalist stalwarts as The New York Times made the same point. But for some reason, NASA has not put Freon back into its formula, and has not even mentioned the "F-word" since Discovery was found to have lost insulation over its fuel tank last week.
The old U.S. Space Program, fighting a war against the Soviets for the high frontier, would not have troubled itself over Freon ethics. The military ethos is actually more respecting of human life than the civic-minded one, because at least it is about life: saving the people in your own civilization against invaders. At today’s civilian NASA, you would think being Environmentally Correct were more important than the lives of the crew.
It is too bad they are grounded. It would have been cool to have a running thread on missions because NasaTV had some kick butt video feeds.
When, exactly, is the re-entry ?
This reentry is going to set a record for strangled sphincters.
The pucker factor will be high.
Their sphincters will be so tight that you won't be able to get a needle through with a sledgehammer.
I caught the flyover by the shuttle and ISS this morning at 5:20 PDT. They are farther apart now but you can still check opportunities for viewing here.
4:46 AM, EDT.
1:46 AM, PDT.
Negative. This orbiter has been inspected and coddled more than any other. We have a low Sphincter Factor, Houston.
Still, many folks on the ground may be a bit anxious. Especially with the media harping on anything that could be remotely life threatening. I rather think that they (the media) are hoping for a calamity.
LOL!
Look at it as mind over matter. Those who mind don't matter...and vice-versa.
Especially with the media harping on anything that could be remotely life threatening.
Naturally. They've got papers to sell. If they don't treat even the most normal things like it's the Second Coming, they won't get viewers. And without that, they're out of a job.
I don't fault 'em for trying to keep a steady paycheck, but I sure would appreciate it if they ratcheted it back a notch or two.
I rather think that they (the media) are hoping for a calamity.
Agreed. That's why I'll be playing Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" when the bird touches down Monday morning.
I have actually seen expressions of disappointment on some reporters faces when their worst-case scenarios fail to occur.
Oo...I was wondering which DVD to put in a late-night movie. Now I know. Thanks!
"...we're just spam in a can..."
"Request permission to pee."
ROFLMAO!
That is one of the funniest scenes in the film! I love the discussion among the flight engineers. Classic.
There are several NASA bashing Freepers who are hoping for the same thing.
That's pretty sad.
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