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Concern over damage to shuttle as Sunita prepares to return

Atlantis suffered a tear on its thermal blanket and a few pieces of foam fell off during launch

Houston: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams prepared to return home after a record six- month space sojourn but there was some concern whether a damage caused to the space shuttle's body will pose problems when it comes back to earth next Tuesday.

Atlantis successfully docked with the International Space Station, where Ms. Williams is one of the crew members, at 1.08 a.m. on Monday to bring back 41-year-old astronaut, whose stay in space is the longest for any woman.

"Not significant"

The shuttle, on its first mission of the year, suffered a 10-cm tear on its thermal blanket and a few pieces of foam fell off during launch on Friday, but NASA officials said the agency did not consider the damage significant. There is not a great deal of concern now, officials added.

Amidst greetings, hugs and handshakes with the 11-member Shuttle crew, who arrived at the orbiting outpost, Ms. Williams wrapped up her duty as a station crew member by switching places with Mission Specialist Clayton Anderson.

Ms. Williams will now start packing her stuff to return home.

However, amidst the smiles and salutations, questions remained unanswered about the section of the peeled-back thermal blanket on the shuttle.

Engineers continued to review photographs of the affected area to determine whether it could pose a problem when Atlantis returns to Earth. The rest of the vehicle appeared to be in fine shape, NASA said.

Taking no chances

It is taking no chances after the Colombia disaster in February 2003, when Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla and six other crew members perished mid-air. The shuttle disintegrated on re-entry to earth when a protective foam tile shook loose and a hole burned into the shuttle's body.

Engineers weren't sure whether stitching on the thermal blanket came loose or whether the blanket, covering a pod of engines near the shuttle's tail, was hit by debris during launch.

Ms. Williams is looking forward and longing to meet her family, especially her parents, Deepak and Bonnie Pandya, her husband Michael Williams and above all her special dog, ``Gorby.''

Greetings and hugs

Hatches between the two spacecraft opened about one-and-a-half hours after the shuttle docked with the space station.

``Atlantis arriving,'' Ms. Williams said after the traditional ringing of a bell. Atlantis' astronauts floated into the space station's Destiny laboratory and hugged each of the station's residents, which includes the commander, Fyodor Yurchikhin, and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov.

After exchanging greetings and receiving a safety briefing, both crews resumed work.

Prior to Atlantis' arrival, astronaut Danny Olivas took additional photographs from inside the shuttle of the area where the thermal blanket had peeled back. The images were sent to Mission Control for analysis. Astronauts inside the space station also took photographs of the shuttle's belly when Atlantis was 600 feet below the orbiting outpost.

Sensors reported six hits on the wing during launch, but engineers were not concerned. After the Columbia disaster, a shuttle repair kit was included in all shuttle missions.

Atlantis' astronauts completed mandatory inspection of the spacecraft's heat tiles and outer edges to check for any damage similar to what had caused the fatal 2003 Columbia mishap.

Lot of work to be done

``There's not a great deal of concern over it right now, but there's a lot of work to be done and we'll do that in the coming days,'' John Shannon, chairman of NASA's Mission Management Team, told reporters.

Meanwhile, after a busy Sunday at the ISS, attention has turned to the mission's first spacewalk. The excursion, which will focus on the on-orbit assembly of the station, is slated to begin on Tuesday.

Prayers for Sunita

A report from Ahmedabad said residents there offered prayers and performed rituals for the safe return of Ms. Williams.

``NASA is trying, but this is out of human hands. We need divine intervention in this and this is the reason we are praying to God so that Williams can be brought back with safety,'' said Jagdish Bhai Dave, head of Brahmin Samaj. — Agencies

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