Shuttle astronauts to focus on possible foam damage

NASA engineers will today try to determine whether the space shuttle Endeavour was damaged when foam insulation broke off the fuel tank, as it manoeuvres toward the international space station.

Yesterday, schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan and other members of Endeavour’s crew conducted a fastidious inspection of the shuttle’s most vulnerable areas, in a search for possible damage.

Nine pieces of foam insulation broke off Endeavour’s fuel tank during lift-off on Wednesday evening, and three pieces appeared to strike the shuttle, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team. None is believed to have been big enough to cause critical damage, he said.

Today, commander Scott Kelly will guide Endeavour slowly toward the space station. Then Endeavour will make a giant backflip so station crew members can zoom in for pictures of its belly and send them to Houston for analysis.