The gouge on the shuttle Endeavour (Source: NASA)
NASA officials have no easy decision when it comes to the gouge located on shuttle Endeavour
Even after discovering a 3-inch-by-3-inch gouge located on the underside of the space shuttle Endeavour, NASA believes it does not pose a safety risk to the shuttle's crew. Officials are now conducting a number of simulations in an attempt to determine if the shuttle can make it back to Earth with no repairs.
Assuming NASA decides to fly the shuttle back to Earth in its current state -- without repairing the gouge -- it could worsen during the violent re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Although the shuttle should be able to safely land in Florida, Endeavour would need expensive, time-consuming repairs that may throw NASA's manned launches for 2007 out of sync.
However if NASA decides to attempt to fix the gouge while in space, it's possible the astronauts who conduct the spacewalk could instead further damage the volatile underside of the shuttle. The current generation of space suit is a large 300-pound suit that is hard to maneuver in -- not to mention the 150 pounds of tools that the astronaut will have with him.
If a decision is made to attempt to repair the gouge, three potential methods can be utilized by spacewalking astronauts. Heat-reflecting paint could be applied around the gouge, a metal plate can be installed to help create a makeshift cover for the gouge, or some type of thermal heat-resistant paste could be used to fill the gap.
The U.S. space agency will decide sometime tomorrow whether or not they will attempt to repair the gouge.
Until NASA officials on Earth decide what the astronauts aboard the ISS should do, business will likely continue as scheduled in space. Spacewalks and general construction of the ISS will continue.
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