NASA to look at shuttle shield damage

NASA to look at shuttle shield damage

Reuters

By Irene Klotz Reuters - 1 hour 5 minutes ago

HOUSTON (Reuters) - NASA said it will take a close look at a small but worrisome gouge in the heat shield of space shuttle Endeavour, discovered in photographs taken as the orbiter arrived on Friday at the International Space Station.

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The U.S. space agency said ice may have developed on the shuttle's fuel tank that may have struck the ship's underside during Wednesday's launch from Florida, so a damage inspection using sensors on a robot arm will be performed on Sunday.

Spacewalking astronauts will patch it up if NASA decides the three-inch gash threatens Endeavour's safety during its fiery return to Earth, said mission management team chairman John Shannon in a briefing at Johnson Space Center.