Tank ice frost ramps cleared for July shuttle flight

NASA managers have decided to leave one kind of foam ramp in place on the external tank as is for the next flight of the space shuttle, now set for July 1. However, the wind tunnel tests and safety reviews to resolve worries about the removal of another, bigger foam ramp will go down to the wire. A final decision on the large PAL ramp foam, removed for the first time for this next flight, may not be finalized until the Flight Readiness Review a couple weeks before the scheduled launch. Because the PAL ramp foam removal is a major design change, NASA decided yesterday to leave the smaller ice-frost ramps in place despite concerns they too can shed potentially dangerously large pieces of foam. The rationale: make one big design change at a time, then fly to test that change before making more changes. The impact of today's news on the schedule is almost nil. The mission remains set to launch in July. The PAL ramp safety reviews remain a potential showstopper that will not be resolved until possibly the last minute. Graphic explanation.