Atlantis Crew Inspects Shuttle For Possible Damage
Posted September 10, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hours after Atlantis’ liftoff Saturday, NASA officials said there was no obvious damage to the craft, but Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean and his five crewmates carefully inspected the shuttle Sunday to see if any debris hit the thermal skin.
There were more than 100 cameras locked on Atlantis when it blasted into space from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to capture any signs of foam breaking off its external fuel tank – the problem that doomed the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.
The crew said later Sunday that they haven’t spotted any problems so far.
They used the shuttle’s 15-metre robotic arm to check over the craft, especially the nose cap and wings. The device is attached to a boom equipped with sensors and a camera at the end.
The Atlantis crew is expected to reach the space station Monday, where they will resume construction that was halted after the Columbia disaster. The astronauts will perform three space walks to install solar panels on the outpost to boost its power.
The crew received a lovely wake up call Sunday with a version of “Moon River” sung by Audrey Hepburn in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
“It really is a beautiful day up here,” commander Brent Jett said. “We’re awake and ready to get to work with the inspection.”
