Posted on 06/13/2008 6:27:10 AM PDT by kristinn
Mission controllers at NASA are discussing a possible problem with space shuttle Discovery on Friday.
Astronauts said they noticed a shiny, rectangular-shaped object trailing the shuttle after a rocket was fired.
NASA officials said they're analyzing video and photos to determine if the part came from the shuttle or cargo bay.
They're hoping to determine if it could pose a problem for the crew during the re-entry and landing on Saturday morning.
Just great
NASA-TV says crew spotted shiny object about 1 ft to 1 1/2 ft near rudder. Observations show what may be insulation sticking out from part of the rudder. Photos and video was taken and has been downloaded to NASA for analyzing.
Thankfully they switched to ‘eco-friendly’ insulation so that they won’t harm the environment as they burn up on re-entry
Whew. I’m not a superstitious person at all, but I can’t help observing that this is Friday the 13th.
I pray they’ll find out it’s not a problem.
Thank goodness for that.
SNIP
Commander Mark E. Kelly of the Navy, the shuttle commander, radioed to the ground on Friday morning that an object had been spotted floating behind the aft starboard wing. Commander Kelly also pointed out what he called “a bump” seen sticking out from the trailing edge of the port side of the shuttle’s rudder, which sits on the craft’s vertical tail fin. The crew transmitted video and still images of the object to the ground, where they are being analyzed.
Commander Kelly also offered to take a break from preparations for landing to “take the arm out,” meaning the shuttle’s robotic arm, which is equipped with a camera, to “get a closer look” at the area in question.
The Discovery is scheduled to land as early as Saturday at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time, though problems like rain, low clouds over the landing strip or high winds could lead mission managers to delay the landing to later on Saturday, or put it off to Sunday or Monday.
If a serious problem is discovered, the crew can take the shuttle back to the International Space Station, which it separated from on Wednesday, so that mission managers can determine whether to repair the craft or attempt to send another shuttle as a rescue vehicle.
Rob Navias, a commentator on the space program’s NASA TV service, said that the area of the protrusion appears to be a small piece of thermal insulation, in the area known as the “speed brake,” a part of the rudder that splits to slow the craft. The nature of the larger object floating away from the craft at about a foot per second, which appeared to be shiny, rectangular and roughly 12 to 18 inches across, is still being analyzed on the ground.
The object floated away after a series of routine pre-landing procedures in which the crew tested the steering jets, a test which often shakes loose objects off of the spacecraft. The procedures also include working the craft’s flaps. Mr. Navias said that the entry flight director, Richard Jones, has called in imagery experts and structural and mechanical experts to, as Mr. Navias put it, “hammer this one flat” and make sure there is no concern for landing on Saturday.
Probably Algore chasing them and trying to attach a “Global Warming = DOOM/Al Gore = Salvation so SEND MONEY” banner to the tail of the shuttle.
All humor aside, hope — like Algore — this is not serious.
“Ice”?
The shuttle is 1970s technology.
It’s long since time to replace it with something more modern and practical (should have been done instead of just replacing the last one).
“I’m not a superstitious person at all, but I can’t help observing that this is Friday the 13th.”
what a contradiction
This could be the vanguard of the invasion force.
But we must instead spend the money on health care for illegal aliens.
Uh oh.
“It’s long since time to replace it with something more modern and practical (should have been done instead of just replacing the last one).”
We replaced Challenger with Endeavour in the 1980s. Shuttle wasn’t even a teenager then. That was 20 years ago. NASA started and killed two potential Shuttle replacements since then. Orion is the third try, and I have my doubts about it being the charm.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.