Damage eyed as shuttle heads toward space station
MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer= CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) â?? Space shuttle Endeavour rocketed toward the international space station Thursday as engineers on Earth pored over launch pictures that showed debris breaking off the fuel tank and striking the craft. Mission Control told the astronauts late Wednesday that the damage looked less extensive at first glance than what occurred on the last shuttle flight, but it will take days to sort through available data to reach a conclusion. The astronauts planned a Thursday afternoon inspection of their ship’s thermal shielding, using a 100-foot laser-tipped boom. The procedure has been standard since shuttle flights resumed after the Columbia…
from WN.com – World News
