Mar 22, 2007 6:39 am US/Mountain
NASA Delays Picking Launch Date
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (CBS) ―
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The insulating foam is of special concern to NASA since a chunk of it flew off during space shuttle Columbia's launch in 2003 and struck the orbiter. (File)
Matt Stroshane/Getty Images
The launch of the shuttle Atlantis, originally set for last week, won't be re-set until sometime next month to give technicians more time to assess hail damage to the space shuttle's external fuel tank, according to NASA shuttle program officials.
The launch last week was postponed after golf-ball-size hail caused thousands of dings on foam insulation on the fuel tank as the shuttle sat on the launch pad last month.
Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations, said NASA managers probably would wait until April 10 before deciding whether to use the current tank, which would leave open the possibility of flying in May, or swap it out with another tank which would push back the next try until June.
"We can get some more analysis done; then we will have enough data to make a good decision," Gerstenmaier said.
Technicians at the fuel tank's manufacturer in Louisiana want time to practice applying foam on a mock-up of its nose cone before they apply it in Florida to the real tank, which is still attached to Atlantis and two solid rocket boosters. They also want to test it to make sure the new foam can withstand heat from the launch.
The foam is used to prevent dangerous ice from building up on the tank during fueling on the launch pad.
The space shuttle was rolled off the launch pad and sent back for repairs to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Technicians have spent two weeks erecting scaffolding around the external tank and sanding down some parts of the foam insulation.
The fuel tank has about 2,500 dings, of which 1,600 may need to be filled with new foam. Technicians can sand down some of the other dings -- an easier repair.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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