NASA: Some Fuel Tank Foam Loss After Shuttle Launch

NASA's space shuttle Atlantis roars off the launch pad for a rendezvous with the International Space Station on mission STS-115. In the foreground is the countdown clock, marking launch and mission-elapsed time, on the grounds of the NASA News Center. CREDIT: NASA/Webb Dillard.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Atlantis' foam-covered fuel tank did shed some debris midway through today's successful launch, but the events are not believed to be a threat to the spacecraft, NASA officials said Saturday.

Cameras mounted to Atlantis' external tank recorded two foam shedding events - one of which appears to have struck the orbiter -between four and six minutes into the 8.5-minute launch, NASA astronaut Tony Antonelli, serving as spacecraft communicator, told shuttle commander Brent Jett.

Antonelli said the foam debris seen just after the four-minute mark appeared to hit the orbiter's tile-lined undercarriage, but video showed no apparent damage after a preliminary report.

A second foam-shedding event at the five-minute, 27-second mark seemed to originate from the outboard section of a 17-inch liquid oxygen feed line, Antonelli said, adding that ice was also seen after main engine cutoff.

Both events occurred well after the 2.5-minute mark, when the atmosphere outside Atlantis becomes so thin it cannot sweep debris back fast enough to pose a critical threat to the shuttle, NASA officials said. Shuttle officials have also said that they did expect minor foam shedding events during each launch.

"That's good news that if all came off later than the area of the time of interest," Jett told Antonelli.

In a post-launch briefing here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), NASA launch integration manager LeRoy Cain also mentioned the observed foam loss, and cautioned that any evaluations at this point are very preliminary.

"The things that folks did see, in a very, very preliminary look, looked well into the ascent phase where we really don't have debris concerns," said Cain, who chaired the Mission Management Team (MMT) for Atlantis' STS-115 mission.

NASA will hold its first in-depth briefing on Atlantis' launch imagery at about 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT).

Atlantis' STS-115 mission is NASA's third shuttle flight - and the first dedicated International Space Station (ISS) construction effort - since the 2003 loss of seven astronauts aboard Columbia, which suffered critical damage from foam launch debris and broke apart during reentry.

ISS-bound mission

Atlantis rocketed spaceward with Jett and five other astronauts aboard at 11:14:55 a.m. EDT (1514:55 GMT) bound for the ISS, where its 17.5-ton cargo of new trusses and solar arrays will be attached to the outpost's port side.

"What you saw today was a flawless countdown, a majestic launch," NASA chief Michael Griffin said during a post-launch briefing here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). "It was tough to get here."

A fuel tank sensor problem that scrubbed a launch attempt Friday was absent during today's launch countdown, and a shuttle fuel cell cooling system issue that prevented a Sept. 6 liftoff also performed as expected, NASA said, adding that launch pad lightning strikes and a tropical depression also plagued the mission.

"The countdown itself went exceedingly well," NASA launch director Michael Leinbach said. "Which should really not be surprising considering how many times we've tried it."

NASA officials are now looking ahead to the shuttle's 11-day ISS assembly mission, which begins with a Monday docking after the STS-115 crew conducts a thorough examination of Atlantis' heat shield tomorrow.

"That will be an extremely challenging flight," William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator of space operations said. "The teams are prepared, they're ready to execute and they're ready to go."

• VIDEO: First Tasks of NASA's STS-115 Mission
• Gallery: Prepping Atlantis
• Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
• NASA's STS-115: Shuttle Atlantis to Jump Start ISS Construction
• The Great Space Quiz: Space Shuttle Countdown
• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 13