NASA orders first-ever walk to shuttle’s belly, Orlando Sentinel
“In preparation for the job, NASA has called on some of its most experienced spacewalkers, including astronauts Joe Tanner and Jerry Ross, to help develop the procedures for removing the fillers. Begley said astronauts also are testing procedures in the giant NASA pool where spacewalkers practice underwater at Johnson Space Center in Houston.”
Shuttle Repairs to Be Tried in Spacewalk, NY Times
“Astronauts will perform a landmark spacewalk on Wednesday morning to remove or clip two tiny strips of stiff cloth that are protruding from the belly of the shuttle Discovery and could cause dangerous heating during the craft’s fiery re-entry into the atmosphere, officials said Monday.”
Astronaut to make first in-flight repair, CNN
“It was prudent to take action so that we wouldn’t have to worry about some of the worst consequences,” said Wayne Hale, NASA’s deputy shuttle program manager, at a news conference Monday evening.”
NASA gives go-ahead to spacewalk repair work, SpaceflightNow
“Today at the mission management team meeting we had a very long discussion about aerodynamics,” Hale said. “I went in with a very simple question: Did we have the engineering knowledge and analysis that would, without a shadow of a doubt, allow us to be 100 percent confident the vehicle could fly safely during entry?
