NASA orders fix on Discovery's external tank brackets

[redtanker]

CNN) -- Insulating foam that covers brackets of Discovery's external fuel tank needs to be removed before the shuttle can fly again, NASA said Friday.

A new X-ray analysis shows small cracks that probably make the material prone to shedding, officials said.

NASA engineers said the foam -- called Super Light-weight Ablative, or SLA -- should be removed from the brackets.

The work will take about nine days and is not expected to delay Discovery's next launch, scheduled for October 23.

Insulating foam covers a shuttle's external tank to prevent ice from building up when super-cold liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel is pumped into it in the hours before launch.

But foam shedding has been a huge problem for NASA in recent years. The agency has been extremely watchful for any damage to the tank or heat shield after the 2003 Columbia disaster, when a suitcase-size piece of foam flew off the shuttle's external tank and cracked a gash in the leading edge of the left wing.

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NASA orders fix on Discovery's external tank brackets - CNN.com