HOUSTON — A first look at video from space shuttle
Atlantis' external fuel tank revealed no signs of damage to the spacecraft's
heat-resistant underbelly, NASA mission managers said Friday.
The
seven-astronaut crew scanned the heat shield of Atlantis with a sensor-laden extension boom today to complement the
discarded fuel tank's footage. John Shannon, deputy shuttle program manager,
said the six-hour inspection of the shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap
also showed no chinks in protective heat-resistant tiles.
"It
showed absolutely nothing of interest," Shannon said of a preliminary report by NASA specialists. "We had an extremely clean launch and ascent."
Shannon did note, however, that several
small pieces of debris were shed during launch — likely small chunks of
foam insulation from the shuttle's external fuel tank. He said the first two harmlessly
popped off within the first two minutes of launch while a third that may have
struck the orbiter just more than seven minutes after liftoff.
"I would
expect that we will see no marks at all on the [heat-resistant] tile … from
something that releases at that time," Shannon said. Foam insulation shed
seven minutes into launch — more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) above
the Earth — does so at lower speeds because of the lack of air drag.
Detailed heat
shield inspections became standard procedures after Columbia broke apart in
2003, a tragedy traced back to foam insulation striking
the underside of the orbiter.
Mike Sarafin,
lead shuttle flight director for the STS-122 mission, said specialists are
waiting for data from both the International Space Station (ISS) crew as well
as videos taken from the shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRB) before clearing
Atlantis' heat shield for damage.
NASA expects
to get a detailed look at the rest of the shuttle's heat shield Saturday, when
Atlantis meets up with the space station, performs a back flip and circles
around the orbital outpost. The maneuver allows camera-wielding space station
astronauts to photograph Atlantis' underbelly.
"We'll
get our normally really good pictures of the underside of the vehicle,"
Shannon said, adding that SRB videos will be recovered after choppy Atlantic Ocean waters calm down on Saturday. "We'll get the cameras off next Wednesday
and have that video and data in hand."
As technicians wait for
more launch data, Commander Stephen Frick and the six other astronauts of the STS-122
mission are preparing to deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus
laboratory to the space station. NASA expects the shuttle to latch onto the
ISS around 12:35 p.m. EST (1735 GMT) on Saturday, beginning a busy week of work
in space for the crew.
"We're
on track to dock with to the International Space Station tomorrow,"
Sarafin said. "That will be the opportunity to deliver a brand new module
to Peggy Whitson, who's commanding the space station, on her 48th
birthday."
NASA is
broadcasting Atlantis' STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's shuttle mission coverage and NASA TV feed.
advertisement
