Andrew
06-13-2008, 08:27 AM
Discovery's crew has just downlinked images of a slight protrusion on the vertical tail fin which is suspected to be a loose bit of thermal insulation. They have also asked to utilize the RMS to obtain a closer look but at this point MCC is continuing their analysis.
Since this area does not undergo significant heating during reentry, it is yet unknown what (if any) impact this could have on the orbiter's health.
On a different note: a rectangular shiny object 1-1.5 feet in size was seen floating away from the aft starboard wing earlier this morning. It is not unusual for objects to be dislodged from the payload bay after RCS testing but analysis is still ongoing to determine what the object was.
-Andrew
Since this area does not undergo significant heating during reentry, it is yet unknown what (if any) impact this could have on the orbiter's health.
On a different note: a rectangular shiny object 1-1.5 feet in size was seen floating away from the aft starboard wing earlier this morning. It is not unusual for objects to be dislodged from the payload bay after RCS testing but analysis is still ongoing to determine what the object was.
-Andrew