Costly redesign only cure for shuttle's debris woes

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2007 | by Traci Watson

NASA continued to struggle Wednesday with debris damage to space shuttle Endeavour, after deciding long ago not to completely redesign the spacecraft's fuel tank, which has been the source of similar problems for two decades.

Foam insulation from the tank damaged the shuttle on its very first flight, in 1981. Most recently, as Endeavour rocketed into orbit on Aug. 8, a chunk of foam possibly mixed with ice gouged the spacecraft's belly.

In 2003, tank foam smashed into shuttle Columbia, which crumbled during the fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Three of the six shuttle flights since the accident have been dogged by tank debris.

Until Columbia was lost, NASA regarded tank debris as a nuisance, not a safety threat. The agency made no plans...