Shuttle Crew Readies for Hookup With Space Station

Jun 10, 07:15 AM

Current Headlines: By SETH BORENSTEIN

By Seth Borenstein

The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

With a 4-inch gap in the space shuttle Atlantis' heat-protecting blanket not appearing to be a problem on Saturday, the crew members readied themselves for what NASA called a delicate ballet with the international space station.

Then the shuttle will enter a weeklong embrace today with the orbital outpost. Atlantis' seven astronauts spent much of Saturday on a mandatory inspection of the shuttle's delicate heat tiles, outer edges and blankets for problems similar to the kind that caused the fatal Columbia accident in 2003. As of Saturday afternoon, no glaring problems were reported.

But late Friday and early Saturday, the crew spent extra time using a robot arm to look at a gap in a thermal blanket on the left side of the shuttle. The gap, about 4 inches, is the result of an unusual fold in the blanket, not a debris hit - which caused Columbia's fatal problem, NASA spokeswoman Lynette Madison said.

The area does not get hotter than 700 degrees Fahrenheit during the shuttle's return to Earth and is not a place where NASA is usually concerned about potentially fatal problems, she said. Still, engineers were using photos to create a three-dimensional model of the gap just in case.

"They don't think it's much of a concern," Madison said.

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