Space shuttle blastoff damaged launch pad: NASA

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Bricks and mortar blew off the US space shuttle's launch pad during its weekend liftoff, without damaging the orbiter but causing concern for future missions, NASA said Monday.

An investigative team was formed to look into the damage and come up with options for the shuttle's next mission in October, deputy shuttle program manager LeRoy Cain told reporters.

The shuttle has two launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, but only one is currently in use while the other is being retrofitted for the next-generation spacecraft under development.

Damage is not uncommon at the launch pad, but never of his magnitude, Cain said.

"We saw that we had some fairly significant damage," Cain said. "We don't have any...