Re: accident on pad -- damage -- overnight fix possible


"Bruce Palmer" <bpalmerx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
> It's still serious enough that it might cause a delay in the launch. If
> there's any chance at all there might be damage to the carrier plate
> that can't be easily detected they should opt for a delay IMO.

from my client advisory:
8. Fortunately the damage was on a small piece of removable structure.
If the impact had been a foot to the right or left, it would have hit tiles
that
are physically attached to the Orbiter outer skin -- and they would have
been
much harder to replace on the pad because unsticking a tile from the
aluminum skin and then replacing it is a delicate, time-consuming task
usually done in the Orbiter Processing Facility.

9. So it was really lucky (if it had to happen at all) that the 'hit' was
on the 'carrier plate' (so named because it is a small removable aluminum
plate that 'carries' already-glued-on tiles). The structure was quickly
removed
and replaced with a spare unit, and was found to be adequately positioned.


.

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