Astronauts To Staple Shuttle Blanket

Local 6 ^ | June 13, 2007

[SubGeniusX]

HOUSTON -- Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Wednesday to help fold up a solar wing and try to bring to life a rotating joint that will allow a new pair of solar arrays to track the sun.

[snip]

Back on the ground, NASA engineers figured out how best to repair a loose thermal protection blanket on the shuttle that peeled back during launch last week. Repairs are scheduled for Friday.

The astronauts will secure the blanket using staples found in the shuttle's medical kit and pins that come from the shuttle's tile repair kit. If those methods don't work, NASA flight controllers will have the astronauts sew it into place using a stainless steel wire and an instrument that resembles a small needle.

Engineers don't think the damaged section of the thermal blanket, which protects part of the shuttle from the blazing heat of re-entry, would endanger the spacecraft during landing. But it could cause enough damage to require schedule-busting repairs.

[SubGeniusX]

Nods Approvingly..."Medicine kit, stainless steel wire, needle...I'm impresssed..."

[Spirochete]

The astronauts will secure the blanket using staples found in the shuttle's medical kit and pins that come from the shuttle's tile repair kit. If those methods don't work, NASA flight controllers will have the astronauts sew it into place using a stainless steel wire and an instrument that resembles a small needle.

They're going to do this with heavy gloves on. Right.

[CJ Wolf]

What, no chewing gum?

[Squidpup]

Duct Tape

[Paleo Conservative]

Where’s the bailing wire and duct tape?

[P-40]

[Egon]

The astronauts will secure the blanket using staples found in the shuttle's medical kit and pins that come from the shuttle's tile repair kit. If those methods don't work, NASA flight controllers will have the astronauts sew it into place using a stainless steel wire and an instrument that resembles a small needle.

That's cool. What could possibly go wrong with that?

[tazman3]

So they gave up looking for the duct tape?

[rednesss]

Plus

Equals yikes.

[Badeye]

I’m just wondering how many of our people need to die in another shuttle accident before we kill this last century program that exists only to service the ‘international space station’.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Hmmm. Seams to me...

[RightWhale]

Duct tape doesn’t work in space.

[CarrotAndStick]

Even if they do, will that hold? What are those stitches? If they are anything like what I’m aware of, as per my highly limited knowledge, I wouldn’t want to be on that return trip in that shuttle, lol!

I’m kidding, I know this is handled by people who know what they are doing.

[Old Sarge]

American ingenuity at its finest.

Apollo 13 came home with duct tape and plastic bags.

In 1990, a pilot I knew from the 101st ABN DIV was flying with an Egyptian pilot in the Sinai. Upon an in-flight engine failure, the Arab pilot crossed his hands on his chest, saying “Allah’s will that we die now.”

The US pilot shouted “Screw you!” and dead-sticked the aircraft using his infidel training and skill.

If this had been a Muslim spacecraft, the crew would have said “It’s Allah’s will the ship was damaged, and it’s Allah’s will we burn up on re-entry.”

[theFIRMbss]

[Egon]

Duct tape doesn’t work in space.

...and no one can hear you scream.

[rednesss]

Bill Lumbergh: Milt, we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?
Milton Waddams: Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...

[CT-Freeper]

Duct tape doesn’t work in space.

Because there aren't any HVAC ducts in space?

[The_Victor]

They took my stapler.

[Spirochete]

If this had been a Muslim spacecraft,

I could believe in fairies before a muslim spacecraft.