Astronauts fix thermal blanket on Atlantis
Licensed archive · Attributed source reporting
411 Brief
<noinclude> Astronauts on NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis have repaired a 4 inch tear in the shuttle's Thermal Protection System (TPS). At 1:00 p.m. ET astronauts began their third spacewalk to repair the tear by using medical staples to seal the torn area. Astronauts tucked the material back into place and then stapled up the seams where the material was torn. But the repair did not go without flaws. Astronauts repairing the tear say that the tear line was "higher than expected," according to radio transmissions heard live on NASA TV. Astron
<noinclude>
Astronauts on NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis have repaired a 4 inch tear in the shuttle's Thermal Protection System (TPS).
At 1:00 p.m. ET astronauts began their third spacewalk to repair the tear by using medical staples to seal the torn area. Astronauts tucked the material back into place and then stapled up the seams where the material was torn.
But the repair did not go without flaws. Astronauts repairing the tear say that the tear line was "higher than expected," according to radio transmissions heard live on NASA TV. Astronauts also report that the area where the tear was present is "well worn away" and because of that, no staples were able to be placed on the top side of the blanket near the top of the tear, leaving a small "gap" between the seams.
Two rows of staples were placed along the tear to hold the blanket in place.
Atlantis received the 4 inch tear on its TPS on one of the Orbital Maneuvering System pods near the thrusters during take-off on June 8.
Sources & reporting note
Licensed archive reporting by Wikinews contributors. Text: CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/). Original source date retained. 411 has not independently verified this archive report.
Read the source: Wikinews ↗Source published 15 Jun 2007, 05:30 am IST
