Endeavor spacecraft has a puncture

HIEU TRUNG

On August 10, applause and cheering resounded in the US Air and Space Agency headquarters (NASA) when the shuttle Endeavor successfully connected to the International Space Station (ISS). However, just a few hours later, joy was gone, instead there was anxiety when NASA engineers discovered a hole in the abdomen.

When Endeavor circled to approach the ISS, astronauts on the space station took nearly 300 photos of the ship's abdomen and moved to NASA headquarters on the ground for analysis. From the photos above, the team discovered a hole about 19cm ² near the door of the Endeavor landing gear. Around the hole is a lot of small white spots.

According to executive director of the mission Endeavor John Shannon, the puncture may be caused by several pieces of ice hitting the abdomen of the vessel . Endeavor's fuel compartment contains ultra-cold materials, which can freeze the outer air to form pieces of ice on the surface. The radar image shows a white trail separated from the Endeavor ship about 58 seconds after the ship took off, indicating that it is likely that the pieces of ice crashed into the ship and fell off.

Endeavor when approaching ISS Station (Photo: Reuters / NASA)

However, other experts suspect that the puncture may be due to foam pieces that have fallen off the fuel chamber . This hypothesis recalls the horrifying memories of Columbia's disaster four years ago. At that time, in February 2003, it was the insulating sponge that hit the heat shield of Columbia while taking off, causing the ship to explode in the atmosphere. That accident claimed the lives of seven astronauts.

Today (August 12), astronauts on the space station will ' scrutinize ' the size and depth of the hole with a 30m-long robotic arm with an infrared camera. If the level of damage is severe, astronauts will walk out into space to ' patch ' the hole. There are three methods of ' patching ': using black paint (for space equipment), screwing a piece of metal or spraying special glue to cover the hole.

But if the breach cannot be repaired, it is likely that the Endeavor astronauts will have to 'temporarily stay' on the space station rather than the 11 days as expected. Shannon said on the space station there were enough food and supplies for two months. By early October, NASA will launch a rescue ship to 'rescue' astronauts.

Puncture on the abdomen of Endeavor (Photo: TTO)

The Endeavor launched from Kennedy Space Airport in Florida on August 8, carrying seven astronauts and three tons of cargo to the ISS.According to the plan, astronauts will make 3-4 space walks to replace and install some equipment.