Detecting chipping on the Atlantis space shuttle

The astronauts of the space shuttle Atlantis discovered chipping marks about 53 cm long on the hull. However, the US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) says these failures do not seem serious.

A picture of NASA shows the chipping marks on Atlantis's hull.

The damage seems to be a consequence of the insulating sponge from the outer fuel tank being thrown out when the ship was launched. Astronauts are checking the ship while Atlantis is on the way to meet the Hubble telescope.

A picture of NASA clearly shows the white chipping on the right side of the ship.'It seems they are not serious. The hull is very thick. The cracks seem to be very small, ' said the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center.

NASA officials made the decision last night that the incident was very small and there was no need to conduct further testing.

NASA launched Atlantis on Monday in a mission to maintain and repair the Hubble telescope last. During the 11-day trip, astronauts will make five walks into the space to assemble new Hubble devices.

Damage on Atlantis has made many people think of the Columbia ship disaster in 2003 that killed all seven astronauts on board. This ship disaster is also thought to be caused by insulating foam sheets.