Damage to Endeavour appears less serious–NASA

By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON–Damage to the US space shuttle Endeavour’s protective thermal shield caused by a piece of debris during launch appears to be less serious than previously believed, a NASA official said.

But astronauts will go ahead with a scheduled inspection, during which the protective shield will be examined with the help of a laser attached to Endeavour’s robotic arm, said John Shannon, a mission manager, during a press conference late Saturday.

Video footage of Wednesday’s launch showed a piece of foam detaching from the external fuel tank, according to Shannon.

That piece of foam which could also have been covered with ice hit the shuttle, damaging its protective tiles.

But since foam is lighter than ice, Shannon continued, damage was likely less serious.

“I think we will have a final resolution on Monday when we do the thermo analysis,” Shannon said.

“The consensus in the mission management team is — considering the flight history we had, the location of it — all are very good signs that it will not be something that we will have to be worried about,” the official said.

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