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Atlantis rolls to pad
After a six-hour trip along the three-and-a-half-mile crawlerway from the Vehicle Assembly Building, space shuttle Atlantis arrives at launch pad 39A for the STS-117 mission.

 Roll starts | Pad arrival

Atlantis rollover
Space shuttle Atlantis emerges from its processing hangar at dawn February 7 for the short trip to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39.

 Leaving hangar | To VAB

Time-lapse movies:
 Pulling in | Sling

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NASA examines Atlantis fuel tank foam for hail damage
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: February 27, 2007

Engineers and managers gathered at the Kennedy Space Center today for the start of a two-day flight readiness review faced an unexpected topic of discussion: apparent hail damage to the foam insulation on the shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank.

A strong thunderstorm rumbled across the Florida spaceport Monday afternoon and officials say closed circuit television cameras at pad 39A showed signs of hail damage to the tank. The extent of the damage and what, if anything, might be needed to repair it, is under assessment.


A launch pad engineering camera shows the foam damage. Credit: NASA-KSC
 
Atlantis is targeted for launch on a space station assembly mission at 6:44 a.m. March 15. The shuttle must be off the ground by around March 25 to ensure the ship undocks from the space station in time to clear the way for launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft April 7 carrying the lab's next full-time crew.

Hail damage is difficult to repair at the launch pad because of access issues. If Atlantis has to be moved back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, or to swap tanks, launch could slip to late April. If Atlantis misses the March window and the Soyuz launch stays on schedule, the next available date for a shuttle launch would be around April 20, after the station's current crew departs.

During preparations for shuttle mission STS-96 in 1999, the shuttle Discovery had to be hauled off the pad to repair hail damage to tank insulation. Discovery also had to be moved back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in 1995 to repair foam damage caused by woodpeckers during preparations for mission STS-70.

But as of this writing, it's not yet clear what impact this week's storm might have.

The flight readiness review will assess the hail damage and launch preparations in general. NASA typically sets an official launch date at the conclusion of the FRR. Whether this issue will be resolved by Wednesday remains to be seen.


A launch pad engineering camera shows the foam damage. Credit: NASA-KSC
 

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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: ATLANTIS DEPARTS VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ARRIVES AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY

VIDEO: ATLANTIS LEAVES HANGAR AT DAWN PLAY
VIDEO: SHUTTLE ROLLS TO VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF VAB ARRIVAL PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE OF LIFTING SLING PLAY
VIDEO: ORBITER GOES VERTICAL IN VAB PLAY
VIDEO: ATLANTIS JOINS TANK AND BOOSTERS PLAY
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