Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Deep Gouge Blues

NASA isn't really singing the blues or even announcing a repair EVA just yet, though the damage revealed by closer inspection of the TPS tiles struck by ET-shed foam looks pretty nasty to me. Of course I don't have the models, test results, simulations, video, etc. that the NASA engineers have, nor do I know what the risks are of working on this area for repairs. It's certainly not like they will take lightly any TPS damage that could cause harm to the astronauts or the Endeavour. That lesson was painfully taught by Columbia in 2003.

STS-118 Tile Inspection #2
The Orbiter shot shows a simulation of the inspection, though I'm not looking at quite the right tile area (which is near the right main landing gear door - my shot shows inspection closer to the left one). I also have not learned to use programmed sequences on the RMS - I just use the manual controls and "cheat" by looking at external views. I have to figure out how to use the RMS cameras too.

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