Soyuz Docks; Atlantis Inspects Itself

Shuttle Return Delayed As Astronauts Check Heat Shield

(CBS/AP)  If camera angles or lighting aren't quite right during the robot arm inspection, astronauts will attach a 50-foot boom on to the arm Wednesday morning to see more of the shuttle, at closer angles, Hale said. The odds are 50-50 chance that NASA will have to take the extra look, which would take an hour to set up and three hours to conduct, Hale said.

Mission controllers also used cameras at the end of the robot arm to take pictures around the payload bay while astronauts slept on Tuesday.

If astronauts are too tired from the shield inspection process Wednesday, NASA could postpone landing until Friday, Hale said.

Mission Control woke Atlantis to "Beautiful Day" by U2 and astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper responded: "Any day in space is a beautiful day and hopefully tomorrow it'll be a beautiful day in Florida and we'll be back home."

There are two landing opportunities at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday: one in the darkness at 5:22 a.m. CDT and a second in daylight at 6:57 a.m. CDT.

NASA has not worked on a contingency plan of parking the shuttle at the international space station for astronauts' safe haven, but has not ruled that out if serious damage was found.

NASA's handling of the problem is "the prudent thing," said George Washington University space policy director John Logsdon, who was a member of the board that investigated the Columbia accident.

"The point is having a clean vehicle for re-entry, not figuring out what this piece of whatever-it-is is," Logsdon said.

There is little downside to taking an extra day to make sure the heat shield is intact, said risk analysis expert Paul Fischbeck, a Carnegie Mellon University engineering professor.

"There doesn't seem to be much cost in doing it," Fischbeck said. "It's almost like a freebie; an extra day in space."

Hale said NASA's attitude has changed since the Columbia accident.

"Clearly we are taking a much closer look than we ever did," Hale said. "You can call it anxiety. You can call it smart. It's what we do these days."

[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.

[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.

[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".

[pelepoe]

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

[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.)

[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.

[osagewoman]

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