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HOUSTON - Before Feb. 1, the future of the space shuttle was numbered in decades, as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration estimated the fleet that first lifted off in 1981 easily could keep flying through 2020. With a string of 88 successful missions since the Challenger disaster of 1986, and plans for a replacement shelved indefinitely, the four-orbiter fleet was NASA's present and its future. Then Columbia broke up 200,000 feet above east Texas - and suddenly NASA was confronted with a question it hadn't expected to face: Should the shuttle fly again? With 2 million parts, it's the...

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding process used to repair cracks NASA-KSC FACT SHEET Posted: August 9, 2002 The welding process that will be used to repair flow liner cracks found in the orbiter fleet is a Gas Tungsten Arc Welding technique that results in a very pure weld with minimal impurities in the final product. This type of technique is typically used for the welding of oxygen sensitive materials. In the case of the orbiter flow liner cracks, the weld is a full penetration weld that will need to go completely through the metal even though the welder will only...