Word: fillers
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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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...
...WILL THE FILLER BE TRIMMED? Robinson will secure his feet to the end of the shuttle?s manipulator arm and be lowered under the nose of the ship-a place where spacewalking astronauts have never ventured. His first attempted fix will be a decidedly low-tech one: He?ll try to pluck the fabric free. If that doesn?t work, he?ll use a blade-a portion of which has been taped over to prevent it from nicking the ship. If that fails, he?ll try a small...
...THIS THE FIRST TIME GAP FILLER HAS CAUSED SUCH A PROBLEM? No. Shuttles have flown more than 100 times and the filler has always been a part of them. In 1995, the shuttle Columbia returned with a protruding piece. On other shuttles, it?s likely some filler worked free but burned away during reentry. The fact that the underside of Discovery was photographed so carefully on this mission to look for chipped tiles is the only reason the filler problem turned up this time...