STS-118 Mission Update

NASA Headquarters – August 15, 2007 — NASA officials said that damage to a section of Endeavour’s heat shield poses no threat to the crew or mission operations, and that the space shuttle can survive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere as is. However, officials are still discussing options for possible repair work to the shuttle to prevent possible heat-related damage that would lengthen the time for ground preparations for Endeavour’s next flight. The damage occurred during the shuttle’s climb to orbit on Aug. 8 when a baseball-sized chunk of insulating foam sheared off a bracket connecting a propellant line to the shuttle's external fuel tank. Scans taken of the orbiter's underside show a 3.5-inch-long gouge in two adjoining thermal tiles near Endeavour's right main-gear door. John Shannon, the chair of NASA's mission management team, told The Associated Press that the shuttle Discovery suffered even more damage in the same location as Endeavour during a l998 mission and landed safely. While NASA officials on the ground are considering repair options, the STS-118 astronauts are continuing with their jobs. During a spacewalk today they are to relocate a truss and upgrade communications systems on the International Space Station. On Monday, they installed a new storage platform on the exterior of the ISS. It is the third storage platform attached to the station, which are used to hold spacewalk tools and spare equipment. They also removed a faulty altitude control device Monday. In addition, on Friday the crew also activated the Station-Shuttle Power Transfer System, which is designed to reroute power from the station to a visiting shuttle. A fourth spacewalk is planned before Endeavour undocks from the ISS on August 20 and lands August 22. .

Commander Scott Kelly (center) assists Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio (right) and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson with donning their spacesuits. Image: NASA TV Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio rides on the end of the space station's robotic arm during STS-118's third spacewalk. Image: NASA TV For More Information STS-118 Makes on Time Launch STS-118 Mission Update, August 13 \ The International Space Station's robotic arm prepares to hand off the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to shuttle Endeavour's robotic arm. Image credit: NASA TV

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