Shuttle foam crack puts launch in doubt

[dad2paisley]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inspectors found a 5-inch-long crack in the foam insulation covering the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, and
NASA managers were deciding Monday whether to call off the scheduled Fourth of July launch.

The crack was spotted during an overnight inspection. NASA had scrubbed launch plans Saturday and Sunday because of poor weather and had removed fuel from the tank.

NASA found the crack, which was an eighth- to quarter-inch wide, in the foam on a bracket about two-thirds of the way up on the side of the external fuel tank facing the orbiter. That location would make it easy to hit the shuttle if a piece of foam came off. Officials were trying to determine whether it could be fixed for a Tuesday liftoff.

"We don't know if it's a problem or not," NASA spokesman George Diller said Monday.

Marion LaNasa Jr., a spokesman for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., which makes the tank, said he didn't know if foam had ever fallen from that area during previous launches.

If NASA decides to go ahead with the launch Tuesday, it would be the first manned launch by the United States on the nation's birthday, and only the second liftoff of a space shuttle since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Concerns about cracks in the fuel tank's foam insulation have dogged the program since Columbia exploded over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003. A chunk of flyaway foam had damaged Columbia's wing during liftoff, allowing superheated gas to penetrate the shuttle when it re-entered the atmosphere.

NASA tried to fix the problem before trying another launch, but more foam broke off Discovery's redesigned tank last July, barely missing the shuttle.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin decided the shuttle should go into orbit despite the concerns of two top agency managers who wanted additional repairs to the foam insulation.

The mission for Discovery's crew this time is to test shuttle-inspection techniques, deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off German astronaut Thomas Reiter for a six-month stay.

The weather forecast for a Tuesday liftoff was better than it was on Sunday or Monday, with a 40 percent chance that storms at launch time would prevent liftoff, said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kaleb Nordgren, a shuttle weather forecaster. NASA planned to make launch attempts on Tuesday and on Wednesday if necessary.

[prefontaine]

Ya know, it would be a cool thing to see a shuttle launched into space on the 4th of July. HOWEVER, it would be catastrophic to see one crash and burn on Independence Day! Our space program needs a serious overhaul. That is if we should even have a publicly funded program to start with.

[houndsaplenty]

I agree prefontaine.

It's funny, you would think, after analyzing why the foam was cracking - they would find a better solution than monitoring it.

Didn't they use to coat it with latex or a substance like it - But it soon became too costly?

[dad2paisley]

Not a wise decision I think.

Shuttle launch on despite damaged foam

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -
NASA gave the green light Monday night for a Fourth of July shuttle liftoff despite worries about a piece of foam that popped off Discovery's external fuel tank while the spacecraft sat on the launch pad.

"We're go to continue with the launch countdown," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator.

The decision was sure to stir more debate about whether the space agency was putting its flight schedule ahead of safety.

Gerstenmaier said there was a "very good discussion" among the NASA officials who made the decision to launch, but "there were no dissenters when we went around the room ... no concerns raised."

He said the astronauts and NASA adminstrator Michael Griffin were also in on the discussion. Griffin "didn't raise any question or comments but he listened intently," Gerstenmaier said.

The 3-inch triangular piece of foam that appeared to come from a 5-inch-long crack late Sunday or early Monday is far smaller than the foam chunk that brought down Columbia, killing seven astronauts in 2003. Gerstenmaier held up the piece of foam, which looked like a wedge of toast.

"I dont think we're taking any additional risk than we did in our original assessment" in going ahead with a launch, he said.

But managers spent most of Monday pondering the problem.

NASA has spent millions of dollars trying to prevent foam from breaking off at liftoff, threatening the kind of damage it did to Columbia. The foam loss on the launch pad is a rare occurrence.

Some outside experts said they were uncomfortable with the agency's decision going ahead, although they didn't have all the information.

Paul Fischbeck, a Carnegie Mellon University risk and engineering professor who has consulted with NASA on the shuttle's delicate heat protection system, wondered why foam had broken off on the launch pad. "It's something you might want to understand before you launch," he said.

The patch of foam fell off an area that covers an expandable bracket holding a liquid oxygen fuel line against the huge external tank. NASA engineers believe ice built up in that area from condensation caused by rain Sunday.

The tank expanded when the super-cold fuel was drained after Sunday's launch was canceled because of the weather. The ice that formed "pinched" some of that foam, causing the quarter-inch-wide crack and the piece of foam to drop off, officials said.

The size of the fallen foam was less than half the size of one that could cause damage, NASA officials said.

Inspectors spotted the crack in the foam insulation during an overnight check of the shuttle. NASA had scrubbed launch plans Saturday and Sunday because of weather problems.

The forecast for a Tuesday liftoff was better than previous days, with just a 40 percent chance that storm clouds would prevent liftoff.

Griffin decided last week that the shuttle should go into orbit as planned, despite the concerns of two top agency managers — including the top safety officer — who wanted additional repairs to the foam insulation.

The mission for Discovery's crew this time is to test shuttle-inspection techniques, deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter for a six-month stay.