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Shuttle Shows No Sign Of Damage

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The Associated Press

Published: October 25, 2007

CAPE CANAVERAL - Discovery's astronauts used lasers and digital cameras Wednesday to examine the shuttle's wings for any signs of launch damage as they gained on the International Space Station with every orbit of Earth.

The good news was that Discovery's fuel tank did not appear to lose any significant amount of foam insulation during the crucial first two minutes of flight, said John Shannon, head of the mission management team. 'Overall, the tank performed extremely well,' he said.

More data and analyses are needed, however, before NASA can say with absolute certainty that the shuttle's thermal shielding made it through the launch damage-free.

The inspection carried out Wednesday is standard procedure, but it's an even higher priority this time because of questions about possible flaws in three wing panels.

Shannon said a preliminary look at the images revealed nothing of significance, but it will take another few days before experts on the ground finish analyzing everything.

Before Tuesday's launch, a NASA safety group recommended that the flight be delayed because there may be some cracking beneath the coating on these three panels. Senior managers overruled, calling the risk acceptable.

NASA wants to make sure none of the protective coating has chipped away and nothing else is wrong with the reinforced-carbon panels before bringing Discovery home.

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