Astroblog: Andy in the Sky with Debris

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Andy in the Sky with Debris

As I write, NASA engineers are minutely scrutinizing images of the Shuttle for signs of serious damage, and the shuttle fleet is grounded. As you may know, debris was seen falling from the external fuel tanks, just like the debris that hit and damage Columbia, leading to its tragic loss. As yet there is no evidence that the debris has caused any damage, but it will be a while before they are sure the Shuttle is safe.

Poignantly, the man charged with determining if there is damage is astronaut Andy Thomas, who shares his name with Smallest One. Australia is probably watching this mission more closely than most, as Andy is our astronaut. We are innordinately proud of our Andy (the newspapers carried a story today, "Cool stuff Andy will do in Space"). Not only Australian, he's South Australian as well. This is fitting, as South Australia was the site of Australia's space program (or rather, Mother Englands space program, carried out on Australian soil). When I was young, I thrilled to the launch of rockets from Woomera, and wanted to work there exploring space.

The space programs closed long ago. Woomera now houses a refugee dentention centre. Not far from my house is the Aerospace museum, which is a large shed holding sundry planes, plane parts and fragments of the rockets Woomera used to launch into space and my imagination. I go there occasionally and silently commune with their shells while the boys race around the Cessnas.

NASA is relentlessly upbeat about it all. But the accident represents a substantial setback, to have the same type of failure as Columbia on your first launch is not a good sign. The hope that Hubble might be saved is fast receeding. Fortunately, the shuttle is docked with the ISS, so if there is a problem the astronauts can wait until a Soyuz spacecraft picks them up.

With this setback to the shuttle fleet, and the relentless siphoning of funds form basic science to the Moon and Mars missions, space science may be also setback substantially.

And Astronaut Andy, staring at pictures of Discovery, like me in that big shed at Port Adelaide, may be looking at a museum piece.

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:47 pm

Comments:

I really hope that this doesn't set back the science output of NASA. I really was hoping that we would get a HST servicing mission once the Shuttle was up and running again.

It is funny that you should mention Woomera. Just across from the window I'm sitting at is a 6.4m radio telescope that originally worked as a missile tracker there. It is a small world.

# posted by

Anonymous : 5:52 am

Just across from the window I'm sitting at is a 6.4m radio telescope that originally worked as a missile tracker there

Spooky! Is it 60's vintage? It's amazing what Uiversities can recycle isn't it.

I think we have to give up on hubble. If after all this thime they can't fix the original pronlem that doomed Columbia (falling insulation), then there will be a substantial delay as they try to fix things once more, which backs up the ISS shedule, and edges Hubble out, even if the new administrator doesn't get cold feet.

# posted by