NASA Checking Possible Problems With Shuttle Rudder

NASA is trying to figure out what floated away from the space shuttle Discovery, and what's sticking out of its tail.

Both issues cropped up after a routine flight control test before its scheduled landing tomorrow. The astronauts told Mission Control they saw a rectangular object about a foot to a foot and a-half long floating away from the tail.

Then pilot Ken Ham said they noticed "a little bump kind of sticking out" from the left side of the rudder on the tail. Engineers speculate that the floating object could be something from the payload bay or a piece of ice.

And they say the protrusion might be a small piece of thermal insulation sticking out. Mission Control says it'll "take a look" at video and photos the astronauts sent down.

After the Columbia disaster, NASA can't afford to take any chances with the safety of their remaining shuttle systems, so they'll conduct a more thorough examination of the information being sent down from the shuttle as it prepares for landing.

Reports indicate that the debris appears to be be one of three small metallic thermal clips that reside in the shuttle's tail-mounted rudder speed break.