IT鈥橲 a recurring nightmare for NASA. But while damage to the shuttle Endeavour during launch should not endanger the lives of the astronauts, the problem could delay future shuttle launches.
A chunk of insulating foam broke off Endeavour鈥檚 external fuel tank 58 seconds after its launch on 8 August, smacking into the shuttle鈥檚 underside and gouging out a 9-centimetre tear. On Sunday, astronauts scanned the damage with a laser on the end of a robot arm and discovered that the gash ran all the way through the thin tiles that protect the shuttle from heat on re-entry.
鈥淎 chunk of foam broke off Endeavour鈥檚 external fuel tank 58 seconds after launch鈥�
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The damage is similar to the hole punched in Columbia by falling foam, which caused the shuttle to burn up during re-entry in 2003. However, after assessing the damage, John Shannon, chairman of the Endeavour mission management team told a news conference that this 鈥渋s not a catastrophic loss-of-orbiter case at all.鈥�
NASA has made several tank modifications since Columbia, but so far not to the part of the tank that shed foam during Endeavour鈥檚 launch. There are three more flights planned with the shuttle鈥檚 existing tank design before the modification will be ready. However, this latest problem raises the question of whether more modifications should be made before any shuttle is cleared for flight. Endeavour is due to stay at the International Space Station until 20 August.
