No, not that kind of gash
Forbes | Shuttle Mission Overshadowed by Gash
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -
A routine shuttle mission, highlighted by a teacher's first spaceflight and space station construction, is now overshadowed by a troubling gash in Endeavour's thermal shield.
A detailed laser inspection on Sunday of the difficult-to-reach area on Endeavour's belly could send astronauts out to repair the 3-inch wound later in the week, although NASA said that prospect appeared less likely than it did a day earlier. A penetration, if severe enough, could let in searing gases when the shuttle returns to Earth in a possible replay of the Columbia accident.
As a pair of spacewalking astronauts installed a new beam to the international space station on Saturday, engineers back on Earth scrutinized images of the gouge, the result of a strike by fuel-tank foam insulation at launch.
NASA said late Saturday that the piece of foam came off a bracket on the tank, then bounced off a strut farther down on the tank and shot into Endeavour.
See also: NASA's other troubling gash
