08-03-2005, 02:35 PM
Got up this morning at 6 am to see the space walk .
coolest thing ive seen for years .
Loook how far man has progressed ,think how much more we could have progressed if we ah,nt been held back by outdated religious dogma ??
Spacewalk eases NASA's fears for shuttle shield
By Irene Klotz 23 minutes ago
A spacewalking astronaut ventured to the bottom of space shuttle Discovery on Wednesday for the first time and plucked two protruding cloth fillers from between ceramic tiles on the shuttle's heat shield.
"It turned out to be just as easy as we said it was going to be," said spacewalk coordinator Cindy Begley at a news conference.
Astronaut Steve Robinson took care of the nagging heat shield concern on the third and final scheduled spacewalk for Discovery's mission, NASA's first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia accident.
Hopping a ride aboard the robot arm of the International Space Station, Robinson flew over the shuttle's payload bay and disappeared beneath the ship's belly, out of direct sight from the shuttle and station crew members as well as spacewalking partner Soichi Noguchi.
As Robinson headed toward Discovery's nose, he was carefully monitored via television cameras and he chattered constantly so flight controllers and his colleagues on the shuttle and station would know he was OK.
Robinson extended his gloved hand and easily removed the first fiber strip, which was sticking up from Discovery's smooth, tiled underside about an inch (2.5 cm).
"It's coming out very easily," Robinson said.
Arm operator Jim Kelly then maneuvered the arm about 10 feet to the second protruding strip, known as a gap filler, and Robinson gently pulled that piece out as well. Robinson carried a small hacksaw, scissors and forceps in case the strips would not come out easily.
"It looks like this big patient is cured," he said.
The strips, made of ceramic-covered cloth, are thought to have come loose from their adhesive bond. NASA engineers feared they could change the aerodynamics enough during landing on Aug. 8 to cause dangerous heat damage to the shuttle.
After 2 1/2 years of work and $1 billion spent on safety upgrades since the Columbia disaster, the agency was taking no chances it could lose another shuttle to heat damage.
Only one issue remains before managers declare Discovery's heat shield safe to re-enter Earth's atmosphere for landing. Engineers were analyzing a damaged piece of cloth insulation beneath the shuttle commander's left cockpit window.
While not a heating issue, engineers are concerned that the fabric could tear off and hit the shuttle's tail or other areas that are part of the flight control system for landing.
NASA's attention is particularly tuned to the shuttle's re-entry and landing because the mission before Discovery's ended in disaster.
Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003, because superheated gases penetrated its structure through a break in the wing heat shield. The seven astronauts on board were killed.
Columbia's wing had been struck by a briefcase-sized piece of insulating foam that shook loose from the external tank at launch.
Videos showed loose foam swirling from Discovery's tank during its July 26 launch as well, prompting NASA to ground the shuttle fleet for additional tank repairs. NASA also will not fly until engineers figure out way to keep the tile gap fillers in place.
The Discovery crew was scheduled to wrap up a servicing and resupply mission at the space station on Saturday and land on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Robinson clearly was awestruck by the full view of the station and shuttle, set against the background of Earth. "Oh my goodness," he remarked at one point. "My eyes have never seen such a sight." (Additional reporting by Jeff Franks in Houston.)
coolest thing ive seen for years .
Loook how far man has progressed ,think how much more we could have progressed if we ah,nt been held back by outdated religious dogma ??
Spacewalk eases NASA's fears for shuttle shield
By Irene Klotz 23 minutes ago
A spacewalking astronaut ventured to the bottom of space shuttle Discovery on Wednesday for the first time and plucked two protruding cloth fillers from between ceramic tiles on the shuttle's heat shield.
"It turned out to be just as easy as we said it was going to be," said spacewalk coordinator Cindy Begley at a news conference.
Astronaut Steve Robinson took care of the nagging heat shield concern on the third and final scheduled spacewalk for Discovery's mission, NASA's first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia accident.
Hopping a ride aboard the robot arm of the International Space Station, Robinson flew over the shuttle's payload bay and disappeared beneath the ship's belly, out of direct sight from the shuttle and station crew members as well as spacewalking partner Soichi Noguchi.
As Robinson headed toward Discovery's nose, he was carefully monitored via television cameras and he chattered constantly so flight controllers and his colleagues on the shuttle and station would know he was OK.
Robinson extended his gloved hand and easily removed the first fiber strip, which was sticking up from Discovery's smooth, tiled underside about an inch (2.5 cm).
"It's coming out very easily," Robinson said.
Arm operator Jim Kelly then maneuvered the arm about 10 feet to the second protruding strip, known as a gap filler, and Robinson gently pulled that piece out as well. Robinson carried a small hacksaw, scissors and forceps in case the strips would not come out easily.
"It looks like this big patient is cured," he said.
The strips, made of ceramic-covered cloth, are thought to have come loose from their adhesive bond. NASA engineers feared they could change the aerodynamics enough during landing on Aug. 8 to cause dangerous heat damage to the shuttle.
After 2 1/2 years of work and $1 billion spent on safety upgrades since the Columbia disaster, the agency was taking no chances it could lose another shuttle to heat damage.
Only one issue remains before managers declare Discovery's heat shield safe to re-enter Earth's atmosphere for landing. Engineers were analyzing a damaged piece of cloth insulation beneath the shuttle commander's left cockpit window.
While not a heating issue, engineers are concerned that the fabric could tear off and hit the shuttle's tail or other areas that are part of the flight control system for landing.
NASA's attention is particularly tuned to the shuttle's re-entry and landing because the mission before Discovery's ended in disaster.
Columbia broke apart while returning to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003, because superheated gases penetrated its structure through a break in the wing heat shield. The seven astronauts on board were killed.
Columbia's wing had been struck by a briefcase-sized piece of insulating foam that shook loose from the external tank at launch.
Videos showed loose foam swirling from Discovery's tank during its July 26 launch as well, prompting NASA to ground the shuttle fleet for additional tank repairs. NASA also will not fly until engineers figure out way to keep the tile gap fillers in place.
The Discovery crew was scheduled to wrap up a servicing and resupply mission at the space station on Saturday and land on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Robinson clearly was awestruck by the full view of the station and shuttle, set against the background of Earth. "Oh my goodness," he remarked at one point. "My eyes have never seen such a sight." (Additional reporting by Jeff Franks in Houston.)