Atlantis Astronauts Begin Heat Shield Survey

Tue, 12 May 2009 08:27:29 -0500

Atlantis' astronauts have begun a survey of the space shuttle's heat shield, using the robotic arm and a sensor system that can detect damage to critical areas of the thermal protection system, including the nose and wing leading edges. This is a standard survey performed on every shuttle mission. Data from the survey is sent to shuttle imagery experts in Mission Control, Houston, for analysis.