Word: filler
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...troubled space shuttle will get some up-close care tomorrow when astronaut Stephen Robinson ventures outside to trim what?s known as gap filler protruding from tiles at the nose of the ship. The procedure is a straightforward one, but it?s not without risks. What you need to know to follow the operation...
...WHAT IS GAP FILLER AND WHY IS IT A PROBLEM? The underside of the shuttle flexes during the stress and heating of reentry. To prevent the rigid tiles from grinding or chipping, heat resistant cloth is fitted between them. Ordinarily, the filler is flush with the ship, all but invisible to the eye. But on Discovery, two pieces are protruding near the nose-one 1.1 inch, the other .06 inch, and need to be snipped away...
...During reentry, the shuttle must slip smoothly through the atmosphere to prevent heat from concentrating in particular spots or turbulence from causing instability. At the fantastic velocities the shuttle achieves-22 times the speed of sound through the upper atmosphere-even such tiny irregularities as the gap filler can lead to both problems...
...stuff, as I recall. It’s a jilted-lover ditty, and it’s catchy, and it sounds like real humans played the sampled instruments, but it’s very repetitive and doesn’t quite build up to anything. Enh. Chart filler...
...kinds of cherished institutions. If lots of people can destroy an institution by telling a pollster that they prefer soft drinks to be sweeter and lighter, will the next step be for meat-packers to start producing a low-calorie hamburger by just adding a lot of airy filler? And will somebody then try combining it with goat cheese? Is anything safe? Will Hershey bars be filled with raisins and Oreo cookies with pink icing? Will apple pie be made à la mode with Tofutti...