Shuttle Endeavor Hit By Falling Insulation During Launch

NASA announced that debris from the external tank may have caused some damage to the shuttle Endeavor following its launch from Kennedy Space Center yesterday.

Space shuttle Endeavour rocketed toward the international space station Thursday as engineers on Earth pored over launch pictures that showed debris breaking off the fuel tank and striking the craft.

Mission Control told the astronauts late Wednesday that the damage looked less extensive at first glance than what occurred on the last shuttle flight, but it will take days to sort through available data to reach a conclusion.

The astronauts planned a Thursday afternoon inspection of their ship's thermal shielding, using a 100-foot (30-meter) laser-tipped boom. The procedure has been standard since shuttle flights resumed after the Columbia accident.

Endeavour's liftoff early Wednesday evening was the sixth try and came more than a month late. It occurred on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the launch of man's first moon landing mission.

Here's the NASA feed from the launch. The damage appears to have been caused nearly 2 minutes into the flight near the time that the solid rocket boosters separated from the external tank.

There's no word on the extent of the damage, but NASA doesn't appear to be particularly concerned at the moment and believes that the damage to the heat tiles on the belly of the shuttle are not deep enough to be a concern. A more detailed examination of the shuttle will occur when it reaches the International Space Station where it will get a one-over to discern whether the shuttle was damaged to the point of being incapable of safely returning to Earth.