Foam Crack Determined Not Serious

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.03.06 2100 EDT: It's a go! After deliberating for most of the day, NASA scientists ruled late Monday night that despite finding a shallow crack in the foam insulation surrounding the shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, it is not enough to forestall Tuesday's planned launch of the orbiter.

Currently, there is a 60 percent of favorable launch weather for tomorrow and a 40 percent chance of favorable weather for Wednesday.

EARLIER REPORTS

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 07.03.06 1330 EDT: Wait and see. That's the latest decision from NASA on the possibility a crack found in the insulating foam of the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank could force another delay in the planned launch of the space shuttle Discovery Tuesday.

NASA's deputy shuttle program manager, John Shannon, said in a press conference Monday afternoon that the crack formed in the foam surrounding an expansion bracket that holds the left feed line to the external tank's LOX tank. The joint is designed to allow for expansion and contraction as the tank is fueled and, if necessary, detanked.

NASA believes the five-inch long, 1/8" wide crack formed after fuel was detanked after Sunday's launch was postponed due to rain.

Shannon said the working theory at the moment is that rain or condensation got into the crack sometime Sunday, and froze when it contacted the super-cooled feed line. The crack then expanded as the moisture later warmed, and pressure built up under the surrounding foam.

NASA scientists were not aware of the problem, Shannon said, until Monday morning when a small triangular chunk of foam (above) actually fell on the shuttle's rotating launch platform during an inspection, alerting scientists to the problem.

Shannon reports the shuttle Mission Management Team (MMT) will meet Monday evening at 6:30 EDT, at which time they are expected to make a final decision regarding Tuesday's launch. So, at the moment, the launch is still on.

Should NASA determine the crack needs to be repaired, the launch would have to be delayed for at least 24 hours in order to give crews time to construct a platform around the affected area of the tank, so repair crews can mend the crack.

ORIGINAL REPORT

NASA inspectors have found a five-inch long crack in the insulating foam covering a liquid oxygen line aboard the space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank, leading to speculation the long-awaited second Return to Flight mission might suffer another long delay.

The crack was discovered during a routine overnight inspection after the second attempt to launch STS-121 was scrubbed because of weather.

NASA managers are meeting at this hour to determine the risk posed to the shuttle by this latest discovery -- which could lead them to call off the launch, now scheduled for tomorrow.

FMI: www.nasa.gov