Astronauts to assess damage on shuttle

Published on Sunday 12 August 2007 00:48

NASA has found a gouge on the space shuttle Endeavour's underside soon after the craft docked with the international space station, possibly caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after lift-off.

The three-inch gouge, was spotted in zoom-in photos taken by the space station crew shortly before Endeavour delivered its seven crew to the orbiting outpost.

Today the astronauts will inspect the area using Endeavour's 100ft robot arm and extension beam. Lasers on the beam will gauge the exact size and depth of the gouge and an engineering analysis will determine whether the damage is severe enough to warrant repairs.

If the gouge is deep enough, astronauts might have to patch it during a space walk.

The space shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry four years ago because of a hole in its wing, the result of a large chunk of foam insulation that broke off the external fuel tank and slammed into the wing at lift-off.

Yesterday, two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station to bolt an extension on to the orbital outpost's frame.

If the gouge is deemed serious and cannot be fixed, the shuttle astronauts will have to remain at the space station. They have more than two months of supplies with them and a rescue shuttle could be launched by early October.

Even though it was a hot day in Florida when Endeavour lifted off, the fuel tank was loaded with super-cold fuel, which could have allowed dangerously big chunks of ice to form on its surface.

In all, nine pieces of debris, mostly foam, came off the fuel tank during Wednesday evening's lift-off, and three were believed to have struck the shuttle.