After the loss of the Columbia orbiter, NASA has become a little nervous about any potential problem on the Shuttle. The astronauts now have the ability to do a visual inspection of the Orbiter via remote camera, and they do this after achieving orbit.
The crew of Atlantis, after a flawless launch on Friday, did find a small problem: there is a small gap in the insulation blanket that protects the underside of the Orbiter. It’s probably not that big a deal; there are many areas on the Shuttle that can lose protection without losing the Orbiter. On the original flights, whole tiles fell off without the loss of the spacecraft… not that you particularly want that to happen.
One thing in that article made me smile:
After the Columbia disaster, a shuttle repair kit was included in all shuttle missions.
I have a small repair I keep on my bike when I ride. I suspect the contents of both repair kits aren’t all that dissimilar, too! I wonder if they have tire irons and a spare inner tube, though.
