Debris damage should not be a problem for Endeavour

by Stevie Smith - Jul 17 2009, 15:30

Eager to quiet any concerns surrounding Wednesday’s launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, officials at NASA have said they do not believe the vehicle’s sensitive heat shielding sustained any serious damage after being struck by debris that fell from the external fuel tank during takeoff.

“We don’t expect any issues,” outlined shuttle program manager John Shannon at an official news conference. “We’re not worried about this flight,” he added.

Worry initially arose when a shower of foam debris was caught on camera being stripped from the external fuel tank and impacting against the protective tiles housed against the underside of the shuttle's fuselage.

According to NASA, while roughly 12 pieces of very small debris succumbed to the stresses of launch velocity between one minute and 47 seconds and one minute and 55 seconds into the flight, the administration thinks any resulting damage is likely to be negligible.

The astronauts aboard Endeavour have already carried out a remote safety inspection on the vehicle’s nose and the leading edges of its wings, and the crew of the International Space Station will photograph the shuttle’s heat shielding when the orbiter performs a back flip ahead of docking on Friday.

While NASA appears confident that the Endeavour has not been seriously damaged, data gathered from the inspections will likely be poured over in order to prevent the loss of another space shuttle after the Columbia was struck at launch and broke up during re-entry.

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