NASA Selects Shuttle's Heat-Shield Repair Kits

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<b>NASA Selects Shuttle's Heat-Shield Repair Kits</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />NASA has chosen the heat-shield repair kits to be tested on the next space shuttle mission. Astronauts will assess the effectiveness of the kits in fixing damaged insulation tiles on the shuttle's belly and the protective panels on its wings.<br /><br />Two repair techniques will be tried out during a spacewalk from the shuttle Discovery, while another will be tested in the crew cabin. Two other kits will be carried on the flight, but not tested. This is in case Discovery sustains real damage and requires an emergency repair.<br /><br />"We're looking at testing the mechanisms more likely to be needed, as opposed to trying out a very complicated repair procedure we think is less likely to be needed," says NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries. <br /><br />How to perform in-flight repairs has proven to be one of the most challenging aspects of returning the shuttles to flight. The tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels perform a vital and challenging task - shielding the spacecraft from temperatures above 1090°C during re-entry into the atmosphere. <br /><br />It was a hole in an RCC panel - caused by foam falling from the external fuel tank during launch - that doomed the shuttle Columbia to disintegrate on re-entry on 1 February 2003.<br /><br />Putty knives<br />Inside the cabin, Discovery's astronauts will be able to test a plug for the RCC panels that line the wings' leading edges. The plug does not require the vacuum of space to be tested and is designed to fill a hole as wide as 15 centimetres (6 inches).<br /><br />During the mission's first spacewalk, astronauts Stephen Robinson and Soichi Noguchi will test two other repair techniques for up to 90 minutes, using test samples on a panel in the shuttle's cargo bay. <br /><br />Robinson will use a caulk gun to apply a carbon/silicon-carbide material to cracked RCC panels,
 
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