Shares in Alliant Techsystems (ATK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell more than 4 percent on Thursday after NASA grounded its aging fleet of shuttles for fear of another Columbia-like disaster.
Alliant, which is also a defense contractor, makes the shuttle's rocket boosters and developed an emergency repair kit aimed at salvaging missions that suffer damage to the spacecraft's heat-protecting tiles.
The shuttle Discovery lifted off earlier this week in what initially seemed like a success, but NASA on Wednesday said it was grounding the rest of the fleet after video cameras showed debris falling off the spacecraft's external tank.
Similar debris is believed to have damaged the heat shield on the Columbia, which broke up during re-entry in 2003.
at least they didn't forget to bring food
with high risks for a landing Shuttle will have to remain in Space forever
Somerandomgaijin wrote:I hope that he can use a fork. :P
In soviet Russia, fork uses you
Mr Kobayashi: First, I experienced a sort of overpowering feeling whenever I was in the room with foreigners, not to mention a powerful body odor coming from them. I don't know whether it was a sweat from the heat or a cold sweat, but I remember I was sweating whenever they were around. - Otaru Onsen Oral Testimony -------------------------- Keep staring, I might do a trick. -------------------------- Noriko you whore!
Shuttle Discovery commander Eileen Collins said on Friday she was surprised the flying debris problem that brought down Columbia in 2003 re-emerged on their flight and said shuttles should not return to space until it was fixed. She and astronaut Andy Thomas said in press interviews from space they were not worried about damage
Shuttle - Repaired In Historic Spacewalk
US astronaut Stephen Robinson carried out a risky repair to Discovery on Wednesday, pulling out two ceramic fibres protruding from the shuttle's underside that experts feared could have caused it to overheat on its return to Earth.
Robinson was accompanied on the six hour and one minute walk outside the shuttle by Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
With a gentle tug of his gloved right hand, Discovery astronaut Stephen Robinson removed two worrisome pieces of filler material from the shuttle's belly Wednesday in an unprecedented space repair job that drew a big sigh of relief from NASA.
"Beautiful, it just looked too easy," a NASA ground control official told the astronauts as they returned to the International Space Station.
It was "a great choreography between robotics and you guys out there," she said.
But he may have to go out again to fix yet another trouble spot.
Robinson was barely back inside the shuttle and out of his spacesuit when Mission Control informed the crew there was a chance that a fourth spacewalk may be needed Friday to deal with a torn thermal blanket below a cockpit window.