SOME FOAM LOSS EXPECTED
NASA managers said several pieces of foam fell off the external fuel tank
during launch but by then the shuttle was beyond the point in its flight where
they could be a hazard to the spacecraft.
"This isn't too abnormal," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator
for spaceflight. "We fully expected to lose some foam."
Any flyaway foam was expected to be small and of no consequence to the
shuttle. Work remains on one area of the tank foam and the agency's top engineer
and chief of safety had wanted to postpone Discovery's launch until after the
work was done.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, however, decided to proceed with launch,
knowing that the shuttle crew could be housed aboard the space station if their
ship was hit by debris and sustained damage too severe to return home safely.
Delaying Discovery's launch, Griffin said, would put too much pressure on the
shuttle program, which needs to fly 16 missions to the station to complete
construction before 2010.
On Wednesday, the Discovery crew will begin detailed examinations of their
ship's heat shield for signs of damage from debris impacts. The astronauts will
use a sensor-laden boom to scan the shuttle's wings and nose-cap, areas that are
particularly vulnerable to damage.
The space station crew also will photograph and videotape the heat-resistant
tiles on the shuttle's belly as Discovery approaches the space station for
docking on Thursday.
NASA already has spent about $1.3 billion fixing the shuttle's fuel tank and
developing other safety upgrades since the Columbia accident. The agency has no
more time or money to spend on major refurbishments if additional problems are
discovered.
Shuttle commander Steve Lindsey, 45, pilot Mark Kelly, 42, and mission
specialists Mike Fossum, 48, Lisa Nowak, 43, Stephanie Wilson, 39, and
British-born American Piers Sellers, 51, waved small American flags as they
headed from their quarters to the launch pad, marking the U.S. Independence Day.
Thomas Reiter, 48, of Germany, waved a German flag. He will be the first
European to live on the space station and is scheduled to return home with
another shuttle crew in December.
