Teacher-astronaut helps inspect shuttle By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

Teacher-astronaut helps inspect shuttle By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
24 minutes ago



CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan tended to the space shuttle on her first full day in space Thursday, helping to operate a 100-foot robot arm and extension boom as the crew inspected Endeavour for launch damage.

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Working from Endeavour's cockpit, Morgan and crewmate Tracy Caldwell slowly swept the laser and camera-tipped boom just above the shuttle's nose cap. Engineers on the ground scrutinized the images, looking for any cracks or holes that might have occurred during liftoff from flying fuel-tank foam insulation or other debris.

Then Morgan was joined by Rick Mastracchio for a similar inspection of Endeavour's left wing. The right wing was checked earlier in the day.

The meticulous survey has been standard procedure ever since a gashed wing led to Columbia's catastrophic re-entry in 2003. The 50-foot boom, attached to the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm, was created expressly for the job.

NASA said at least four or five pieces of debris broke off Endeavour's external fuel tank shortly after liftoff Wednesday, but it was too late in the launch to pose any threat. One of the pieces appeared to originate from around one of struts that attaches the shuttle to its external fuel tank, an area that was redesigned after the Columbia disaster.

With every circling of Earth, Endeavour sailed ever closer to a Friday afternoon linkup with the international space station. The shuttle was in fine shape, except for a problem with one of the five on-board oxygen tanks that feed the ship's fuel cells.

Endeavour's seven astronauts had their sleep interrupted early Thursday when an alarm went off, alerting them to the tank trouble. They later managed to work around the problem by manually turning the tank's heaters on and off to control pressure. Mission Control described the failed pressure-control sensor as an inconvenience.

NASA hopes to keep Endeavour in orbit for a full two weeks. The shuttle is equipped with a new system for drawing power from the space station. If it works, mission managers plan to extend the flight from 11 days to 14 days.

Morgan, 55, a former elementary schoolteacher from Idaho, was Christa McAuliffe's backup for the inaugural teacher-in-space flight aboard Challenger in 1986. McAuliffe never made it to space; she was killed along with her six crewmates just over a minute after liftoff.

NASA invited Morgan into the astronaut corps in 1998. She was supposed to fly aboard Columbia at the end of 2003, but found herself waiting again after her ship was destroyed and the remaining fleet was grounded.

Now, finally in orbit, Morgan plans to answer questions next week from schoolchildren in at least one state — Idaho — and is flying 10 million basil seeds for eventual distribution to students and teachers.

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On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov