Houston – As the Space Shuttle Atlantis draws closer to the International Space Station on Friday, the first order of business is to carefully inspect its own wings. The wings will be looked at with a laser to inspect for any damage.
During the liftoff of the Shuttle on Thursday, there were at least three pieces of foam that appeared to observers to separate. The entire Space Shuttle itself is undergoing a complete head to tail inspection to make sure there was not any damage from the foam or other sources during liftoff.
The Shuttle is scheduled to deliver the European lab Columbus to the International Space Station on Saturday. It is a two billion dollar lab that has been a long time in the making, and is the pride of European space interests.
There is no direct evidence so far that the Shuttle has been damaged in any way. But with a pole mounted laser inspection device the Shuttle will be completely inspected over the next eight to ten hours. A hole in a part of one wing caused the catastrophic crash of the Space Shuttle Columbia in the year 2003.
No comments for Atlantis Crew Prepares For Inspection
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.