Word: gap
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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...
...most middle-class Pakistanis are left with only ruined hopes. In the wake of rising inflation, a lackluster job market and stagnant salaries, a salaried worker can never think of buying an apartment or a modest house in his lifetime. Millions will have to forgo that dream. The gap between rich and poor is reaching dangerous proportions. It is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. The government has simply not awakened to the plight of its people. Mehmood Aziz Karachi...
...terrorism have left their mark. Almost half, or 46%, believe that by the time they are their parents' age, the U.S. will be a worse place to live in than it is now. In their responses, the fears and pressures and appetites seep through, as does the gap between how their parents see them and how they perceive themselves. That may be the one aspect of 13-year-old life that never changes...