Originally published August 2 2005
Space Shuttle Discovery damaged
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A Robotic arm will be used by Australian astronaut Dr. Thomas to inspect damage on the Space Shuttle Discovery after it was damaged during take off. NASA does not know if the damage will cause any problems with the mission.
In a sobering reminder of the Columbia explosion in 2003, the Discovery's successful launch yesterday was marred by images of a tile falling from the craft's underside and of debris swirling around the fuel tank.
Columbia's wing was damaged on lift-off by falling foam insulation, which eventually resulted in superheated atmospheric gases tearing into the breach when the shuttle was re-entering the atmosphere 16 days later.
This time, the astronauts will be able to inspect every part of the shuttle and repair any damaged tiles.
Dr Thomas will be the primary operator of the shuttle's robotic arm as it uses a new boom extension to perform an unprecedented inspection of the craft's heat shield, using laser imagery and other cameras.
From inside the shuttle, Dr Thomas also will orchestrate three spacewalks by astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Stephen Robinson, whose tasks include inspecting the heat shield.
NASA engineers are assessing the damage, saying it is unclear how significant any problem might be or if it can be fixed by the seven-person crew.
The tumbling object falling from the fuel tank could have been insulating foam, the same material that damaged Columbia in 2003.
NASA has alerted the crew to the footage, but flight operations manager John Shannon said the debris did not appear to hit the orbiter.
The first three days of the mission will be spent photographing and inspecting the shuttle for damage.
The shuttle also will dock with the International Space Station, 360km above Earth, on the flight's third day.
If anything just could not be fixed, they could just stay on board the space station," said Mr Nesbitt.
The station is estimated to have enough air and food for the astronauts to survive for 50 to 60 days, although it would take about a month to launch the Atlantis shuttle on a rescue mission.
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