I won’t make any jokes about NASA on crack, I really won’t. Well, besides that one.
Anyway, I just read on Yahoo!News (I hate to link to them, given their recent shenanigans, but what the heck) that NASA plans to launch the Shuttle Tuesday despite a five-inch-long crack found in the foam insulation on the external tank. This decision is not set in stone, so we’ll see. The launch management people are meeting about the issue even as I write this. Stay tuned.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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July 3rd, 2006 at 5:15 pm
I suggest they put some JB weld on that crack. That’ll fix it up.
If all else fails, there’s always duct tape.
July 3rd, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Exciting - a launch on the 4th of July!
U crack me up
And yeah GL, I bet they have a few rolls of duct tape on board.
July 4th, 2006 at 9:00 am
They will be testing different types of “duct tape” to repair damaged tiles during this mission. and not too soon! A launch is a violent event, I wonder why they never bothered to examine the underside of the shuttle during orbit before.
July 4th, 2006 at 9:02 am
Update: the cracked foam piece fell off. It’s 2.6 grams and about 10 cm wide by 6 mm thick. Since it already fell off, it should no longer pose any danger during launch!
July 4th, 2006 at 9:27 am
Year, but remember that if one piece fell off, what’s stopping more from coming off? I’d say the adhesive has probably gone off too. So unfortunately, more will part company with the mother ship. I only hope that it does not seriously affect the mission.
Ivan.
July 5th, 2006 at 9:35 am
No, it isn’t adhesive. It is the structural integrity of the foam itself. The crack in the foam likely formed because of thermal cycling of the foam during filling and draining of the ET. The crack in the foam weakens the structural integrity of that chunck, it falls off. Weakness in that one location does not necessarily mean any other areas are weak, although the thermal cycling may not be limited to that one location.
There is also the risk of ice forming in that spot because there isn’t enough insulation there now.
All of which is moot now.
July 6th, 2006 at 8:41 am
I still worry, Irishman, because the mission isn’t over yet, not until that craft has safely landed.
Ivan.