Damaris Sarria is an astronaut trainee a Boeing engineer who is on a team inspecting the Shuttle for damage it might get when it launches. She is reporting a potential issue with a piece of insulating blanket that fits on the starboard Orbital Maneuvering System pod, the round cowling that makes the tail of the Orbiter flare out. In the image you can see the bump on the side of the pod which may be a loose blanket. This sort of thing has happened before, and can be dealt with if needed.
It’s possible that the ISS astronauts have gotten a better picture which will aid analysis. Stay tuned to her blog for more info, and I’ll mirror it here as well.
February 9th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
IIRC, it was Atlantis last time that had the OMS pod blanket problem. I sure hope when they get back it doesn’t compromise the Hubble mission seriously.
February 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
And if you look really closely, you can see a miniature Bigfoot pulling the blanket up over his head!
February 9th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
I thought it was a bunny rabbit
February 9th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
CNN also says that there is tile damage by the front wheel well.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I can’t wait for the Ares-class launchers to be ready. I’m really tired of seeing so much time and $$ spent on this sorry idea.
I had the opportunity to speak to a few of the KSC veterans a few years ago, courtesy of The Man and his traffic court, and they lamented the current “leadership”.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
I wouldn’t worry a bit about such a small amount of damage to that particular area. I’d even consider an EVA to fix it a greater risk than to just leave it alone. I used to work for the company which made the original sets of those low-temperature blankets, and made blankets myself of that same material for other insulation applications. It’s good stuff, but it’s also definitely not robust enough to stay intact under stresses large enough to tear apart the spacecraft. In other words, it’s there mainly as an over-engineering measure. If the temperature and, especially, aerodynamic conditions were really that critical, there’d be thermal tiles there instead of what are essentially quilts of low-density glass batting sewn between sheets of glass cloth.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Careful, Mark Martin! Admitting that might give conspiracy theorists ammo, just like the fact the tape was used on the Lunar Modules. (roll eyes)
February 9th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Considering what’s at stake, someone needs to make damn sure that thing is safe before re-entry. Not to minimize the lives of the astronauts themselves, but the loss of another orbiter would end America’s manned space program for at least the next decade, doom the Hubble Telescope (without the scheduled repair mission, it probably won’t last another two years), and end any future expansions or major repairs to the ISS.
February 10th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Phil,
Damaris is not an astronaut trainee. She wants to be an astronaut, there is a difference. She obviously has the will and capabilities to be one. It would be very nice if you could make that correction. Thanks in advance,
Igor.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Thanks for pointing that out, Igor. I was going to do it.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Hmmm, right. OK, I fixed it. Thanks for the correction.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:16 am
So let me get this straight – the outer layer of the shuttle in those areas is a blanket???? Soft, as opposed to a hard shell? I understand the leading edges are the heat tiles for re-entry, I guess I assumed all of the exterior surfaces were a hard shell of some sort, like, oh, an airplane.
I am gobsmacked.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Duct tape! Just put some duct tape on the tear. Another term for duct tape is/was 200MPH tape. Seems it was used to patch and repair airplanes and would stick at speeds of 200MPH. Actually, it was used to cover minor holes in jet aircraft during Vietnam hostilities. So, I guess it could be called 500MPH tape or some such. If it stuck during re-entry, the speed rating could be upped. Great selling point for 3M.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:40 am
oh yeah, I have pictures from the launch:
http://pigeonfish.info/pics/launch2-7-08/
Hope this is just a minor hitch, nothing big for the mission.
According to this: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?cid=5354 it looks like the tile damage is minimal, and they’re still determining whether it’s worth the EVA to stick down the blanket.