Cape Canaveral, Fla. – Workers may have accidentally cut or crushed the section of foam that broke off Discovery’s fuel tank during its launch two months ago – a mishap that threatened the safety of the astronauts and grounded the shuttle fleet.
That is the leading theory for the cause behind the disturbing loss of foam insulation that cast a cloud over NASA’s return to space, said Wayne Hale, the newly appointed manager of the space-shuttle program.
In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday, Hale said the shuttle will not fly again until the foam- insulation problem is resolved – no sooner than spring.
He also said repair work has been set back because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The storms dealt “a severe blow” to resuming shuttle flights and caused the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to lose three months of work, he said.
In a memo soon after Katrina slammed two shuttle facilities on the Gulf Coast, Hale speculated that the space shuttles might be grounded until fall 2006. He has since backed off that pessimistic view and noted that progress has been made in understanding the foam problem and getting the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans – which manufactures the tanks – back into limited operation.
