Spaceflight Now: Breaking News

Atlantis solid rocket booster checked for rain damage
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: Jan. 27, 2000

  SRB stacking
File photo of a solid rocket booster being stacking inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo: NASA
 
Worried that rain might have damaged one of the solid boosters destined to launch space shuttle Atlantis this spring, NASA has disassembled part of the rocket for inspections.

Officials recently became worried after rain intruded into Kennedy Space Center's 52-story Vehicle Assembly and leaked onto the right-hand forward booster segment.

The twin solid rocket boosters, built by Thiokol Propulsion in Utah, are the two Roman candles that propel the space shuttle off the launch pad and toward space.

The boosters are too large to manufacture in one piece. Instead, they are made in segments and the sections are stacked together in the VAB during the months leading up to launch.

Workers had already placed the suspect forward segment atop the rest of the right-hand solid rocket booster during routine processing.

But over the weekend, technicians were instructed to destacked the segment so its attachment joint could be inspected for water.

"A miniscule amount of water was found on some grease," NASA spokesman Joel Wells said. "There was no harm to the motor."

Wells said rain getting inside the VAB is nothing new. "Different doors are left open in the VAB for a chimney effect to help ventilate the building for workers."

With the precautionary check completed, workers restacked the segment Wednesday.

The extra work is not expected to affect the planned mid-April launch of Atlantis on a supply delivery mission to the International Space Station.

The bullet-shaped external fuel tank will be added to the twin boosters on Thursday atop the mobile launcher platform. Atlantis will join the stack in March.

NewsAlert
Sign up for Astronomy Now's NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed directly to your desktop (free of charge).

Your e-mail address: