Crack found in foam on shuttle fuel tank; holiday launch uncertain

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 3, 2006 | by Mike Schneider Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inspectors found a 5-inch-long crack in the foam insulation covering the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, and NASA managers were deciding Monday whether to call off the scheduled Fourth of July launch.

The crack was spotted during an overnight inspection. NASA had scrubbed launch plans Saturday and Sunday because of poor weather and had removed fuel from the tank.

NASA found the crack, which was an eighth- to quarter-inch wide, in the foam on a bracket about two-thirds of the way up on the side of the external fuel tank facing the orbiter. That location would make it easy to hit the shuttle if a piece of foam came off. Officials were trying to determine whether it could be fixed for a Tuesday liftoff.

"We don't know if it's a problem or not," NASA spokesman George Diller said Monday.

One option considered by NASA was to sand down the area of foam, which would take a couple of hours and could be done on the launch pad. Another would be to cut out the area of foam and replace it, which could take several days, said Marion LaNasa Jr., a spokesman for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., which makes the tank.

LaNasa said he didn't know if foam had ever fallen from that area during previous launches.

If NASA decides to go ahead with the launch Tuesday, it would be the first manned launch by the United States on the nation's birthday, and only the second liftoff of a space shuttle since the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Concerns about cracks in the fuel tank's foam insulation have dogged the program since Columbia exploded over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003. A chunk of flyaway foam had damaged Columbia's wing during liftoff, allowing superheated gas to penetrate the shuttle when it re-entered the atmosphere.

NASA tried to fix the problem before trying another launch, but more foam broke off Discovery's redesigned tank last July, barely missing the shuttle.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin decided the shuttle should go into orbit despite the concerns of two top agency managers who wanted additional repairs to the foam insulation.

The mission for Discovery's crew this time is to test shuttle- inspection techniques, deliver supplies to the international space station and drop off German astronaut Thomas Reiter for a six-month stay.

The weather forecast for a Tuesday liftoff was better than it was on Sunday or Monday, with a 40 percent chance that storms at launch time would prevent liftoff, said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kaleb Nordgren, a shuttle weather forecaster. NASA planned to make launch attempts on Tuesday and on Wednesday if necessary.

On the Net:

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