Less than 24 hours before the space shuttle Discovery was set to blast off today, NASA was dealt an embarrassing setback when a window cover – held in place with tape – fell off and damaged thermal tiles near the tail.
NASA quickly fixed the problem and said it was still on track for today’s 3:51 p.m. launch – the first since the 2003 Columbia disaster.
“The issue has been resolved,” said NASA spokesman Mike Rein. “Launch is a go.”
The accident was a reminder of the problem that doomed Columbia 2 ½ years ago when its fragile thermal shield was damaged in flight.
NASA said the lightweight plastic cover on one of Discovery’s cockpit windows came loose while the spaceship was on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, falling 65 feet and damaging two heat-resistant tiles on an aluminum panel near the fuselage.
No one knows why the cover – which weighs less than 2 pounds – fell off, officials said.
NASA said it is awaiting an engineering analysis on whether the blow caused any damage to the engine, used by the shuttle to maneuver in orbit, but launch officials were confident the mission would go off without a hitch.
The latest setback came hours after NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said all issues except possible bad weather had been settled. But he cautioned that space travel is still dangerous.
“There is no recovery from mistakes we’ve made, whether it goes back to the Apollo fire, the loss of the Challenger or the loss of Columbia,” he said.
“Going back even further through 100 years of aviation, the safety lessons that we who fly have learned are written in other people’s blood. The minute we say we’re good enough we start getting bad again.”
A former astronaut blasted NASA, saying safety problems have grown over the past few years because the space agency has lost too many specialists.
“They’re in such a hole now with lack of experience,” said Jim Wetherbee, who flew six shuttle flights and later served as a NASA administrator.
The seven-member crew that prepared to embark on the 12-day Discovery mission includes Charles Camarda, 53, of Ozone Park, Queens, who became an astronaut in 1996.
Despite the mishap, weather continued to loom as the biggest question with thunderstorms possible. Meteorologists yesterday gave the launch a 60 percent chance of lifting off on time.
Meanwhile, families of the seven astronauts killed in Columbia’s fatal break-up offered their support.
“We have had 2 ½ years to reflect daily on the loss of our loved ones as the shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003,” the families said in a statement.
With Post Wire Services