Metal object seen floating away from Shuttle Discovery

NASA engineers were trying to identify an object that floated away from Discovery and were analyzing a protrusion found on its rudder Friday, a day before the space shuttle was scheduled to land.
art.shuttle.ap.jpg

The shuttle's heat shield has been given a preliminary thumbs up for the return trip to Earth.

The two issues were noticed after a routine test of the spacecraft's flight control systems and steering jets.

The astronauts reported to Mission Control that they observed a rectangular object, about 1 to 1½ feet long, floating away from the tail of the shuttle around the right wing.

Full story from cnn.com

Could it have been a waste dump, they were having problems with toilets up there :lol:

Did you read about the 5300 bricks that got blown off the launchpad during takeoff??, they're used to deflect the rocket exhaust. It's amazing that they were surprised it happened, they were installed in the 1960 so they lasted 50+ years, not a bad lifespan for a wall that is getting blasted by a rocket every now and then.

they were installed in the 1960 so they lasted 50+ years

I learned in infant class that " A h'aon agus a h'aon sinn a do".

There are "Adult Numeracy Classes" available for those who are in dire need of them.

oops, 40+ years. Nothing gets by you Peter.

Aparently, it is not as bad as was thought:

The debris spotted floating away from space shuttle Discovery has been preliminarily identified as a thermal clip from the shuttle's brake system, NASA said Friday. The shuttle's heat shield has been given a preliminary thumbs up for the return trip to Earth. Also, lighting conditions tricked astronauts into thinking there was a "bump" along the edge of the shuttle's rudder, agency officials added.

It is not immediately clear why the thermal clip fell off the shuttle. The clip -- one of three on the rudder speed brake -- protects the brake during launch and ascent. The problem will not affect Saturday's planned landing, NASA spokesman Rob Navias said.

cnn news update .

Seanie.

Aparently, it is not as bad as was thought:

Also, lighting conditions tricked astronauts into thinking there was a "bump" along the edge of the shuttle's rudder, agency officials added.

Seanie.

Yeah i saw images on tv yesterday and it did look like there was damage to the rudder.

Glad to hear they THINK it may not be so.