A final inspection of shuttle Atlantis' bullet-shaped external tank is under way at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A while the countdown to the planned launch of an International Space Station continues without any major technical problems.
Armed high-power telescopes, lasers, binoculars and cameras, a team of NASA and contractor engineers are looking for any dangerous build-ups of ice on the 15-story tank, which is now filled with more than a half-million gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
NASA mission managers want to make sure Atlantis does not blast off with any ice build-ups that could break off in flight and strike fragile heat-shield components designed to protect the orbiter and its crew from extreme temperatures encountered during atmospheric reentry.
The inspectors also are surveying the tank for any significant damage to the orange insulation that covers the aluminum-lithium hull of the tank. A chunk of breakaway foam blasted a hole in shuttle Columbia's wing. The damage went undetected and hot gasses ripped the ship apart during an ill-fated atmospheric reentry five years ago last Friday.
The Atlantis astronauts soon will be suiting up and heading to the launch pad. You can watch live NASA TV coverage of the Atlantis launch countdown here in The Flame Trench. Simply click the link below the image above to launch our NASA TV viewer.
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