Soyuz Docks; Atlantis Inspects Itself

Shuttle Return Delayed As Astronauts Check Heat Shield

(CBS/AP)  A Russian space capsule has successfully docked at the international space station.

Officials at Russia's Mission Control applauded early Wednesday as the Soyuz capsule parked at the orbiting station.

The Russian spacecraft is bringing a fresh crew to the station, an American and a Russian. Also on board: the first paying female space tourist, Iranian-American telecommunications entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari, who paid $20 million for the ride.

The three will join a German astronaut and the two outgoing crew members, who are due to return to Earth with Ansari on September 29th.

It's been a busy few days aboard the space station. The space shuttle Atlantis visited last week, undocking on Sunday.

Then on Monday, the space station astronauts sounded an alarm and donned protective gear after they smelled a foul odor. It turned out to be vapor leaking from an oxygen vent.

Wednesday, astronauts started giving Atlantis a thorough once-over to see if the shuttle's heat shield was damaged when a mystery object floated off the orbiter.

The worry over the object - which appeared to drift away when landing systems were put through a normal but bumpy trial run early Tuesday morning - and whether it came from a crucial part of Atlantis was enough to make NASA postpone the shuttle's landing from Wednesday to Thursday or later.

But after spending some of Tuesday trying to figure out what the object was and not coming up with a good answer, NASA managers figured the smarter thing to do was to spend early Wednesday making sure the shuttle was in good shape instead of concentrating on solving the mystery.

Their main concern was the status of the all-important heat shield, because a damaged shuttle skin led to the 2003 demise of the shuttle Columbia.

"We are going to verify that our critical heat shield is in good shape for entry to the best of our ability," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said, adding that that goal should be accomplished by 1 p.m. CDT.

Beginning with the right wing at 12:15 a.m. EDT, astronauts slowly swept the shuttle's robot arm above and along Atlantis' heat shield in what was expected to be a five-hour photo survey. The two cameras on the arm should see any worrisome damage to the heat shield that would be left from the mystery object, Hale said. NASA doesn't know how big the object is because there was no frame of reference or distance in the video that captured the dark rectangular shape tumbling away.

A second mystery object was spotted midday Tuesday and photographed by astronaut Dan Burbank. Commander Brent Jett said the object looked like a picture hanging clip. But it may be a garbage bag, which would unlikely be a damage risk, but the issue will be moot if the heat shield looks good, Hale said.

"So far we do not know the identity of the two things that floated away yesterday," Houston spacecraft communicator Hans Schlegel told Atlantis Tuesday night. "Today we want you to survey the vehicle to make sure it's ready for entry. Last night we already surveyed from ground."

[osagewoman]

Maybe it's that bolt or screw that they lost the other day!!!

[ronaldrand]

I don't see what the big deal is. I'm sure it's just a weather balloon or a lens flare or something. Maybe it's the sun reflecting off the back of the clouds, a very rare occurrence in nature. Sure, that must be it.

[random_radar]

Have you ever heard the saying "Were you born in a barn, shut the door?" Why don't we close the bay doors before firing the rockets? What if something important fell out? What if something heavy fell out and damaged the surface? What if another shuttle blows up?

Dumb questions, I know, but I would be asking stuff like this if I was on the shuttle right now. I sure wouldn't take the Alfred P. Neuman attitude of "What, me worry?"

I know that most NASA people are doing the best they can, so I guess it will be okay. I just don't want to find shuttle parts or body parts on my front lawn when I rake the leaves this Saturday. (Black humor, but I live in the debris field of the last shuttle disaster.)

[pelepoe]

Is it true that one needs a 3.5 gpa to join the jpl? maybe we should up the anti to 4.0!

[woodshunt]

I'm not so sure I'd trust someone who can't tell the difference between a "picture hanging clip and a trash bag".

[hamiltongrad]

I think we all wish the brave space explorers well, as we do the hard working people at NASA. It is easly to second guess everything. Give them time and your prayers.

[revhuber]

I think that if NASA should look closely at that unidentified object hovering near the space shuttle. It just might have the words Tiger Woods imprinted on it.