Shuttle heat shield inspected for damage
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The orbiting Discovery crew started the meticulous inspection of the shuttle's heat shield on Sunday, looking for any possible damage from liftoff.
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Astronauts used a robot arm to scan the  space shuttle Discovery's heat shield for damage on Wednesday  as it headed for a Thursday rendezvous with the International  Space Station.
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By MIKE SCHNEIDER HOUSTON - Hours after undocking from the international space station Tuesday, Atlantis' seven astronauts began a final inspection of the space shuttle to make sure its heat shield was ready to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
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Astronauts on shuttle Atlantis  conducted a final inspection of their spacecraft's heat shield  on Monday as they began early preparations for their return to  Earth.
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NASA&#39;s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has returned this view of its discard heat shield, which crashed to the planet&#39;s surface during the craft&#39;s descent and landing last January.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida  - Spacewalking astronauts will likely drop plans to test a shuttle heat shield repair technique so they have time to study a troubled but critical part of the International Space Station's power system, NASA said on Monday.
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By SETH BORENSTEIN  HOUSTON - Atlantis' six astronauts completed two inspections of the space shuttle Wednesday to make sure it wasn't damaged from mysterious objects found floating outside the spacecraft and made preparations for a landing attempt on Thursday.
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ASTRONAUTS on the space shuttle Atlantis will spend two extra days in orbit to fix the craft's thermal "blanket".   Experts feared the rip could result in damage to the shuttle during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
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NASA said it will fix a worrying rip in space shuttle Atlantis' heat shield system and spacewalking astronauts hooked a giant metal truss to the International Space Station on Monday.
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By MIKE SCHNEIDER  HOUSTON - The astronauts asked to repair a loose thermal blanket on shuttle Atlantis have studied the fine points of aerospace engineering and built their strength for the strenuous task in weight rooms.
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NASA reported progress on glitches to a critical computer system on the International Space Station on Friday as astronauts repaired insulation damage to the space shuttle Atlantis during a spacewalk.
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By Seth Borenstein Associated Press  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- With a 4-inch gap in the space shuttle Atlantis' heat-protecting blanket not appearing to be an urgent problem on Saturday, the crew readied themselves for what NASA called a delicate ballet with the international space station.
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Just three months before launching the first space shuttle mission in two years,  NASA is still undecided about which techniques for in-flight repair on the heat shield to test to ensure the Columbia accident is not repeated.
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Space shuttle astronauts will attempt  to repair Atlantis&#39; damaged heat shield during a spacewalk on  Friday, using staples to try to pin down a loose thermal  blanket, managers decided on Wednesday.
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Atlantis crew inspect shuttle heat shield    WASHINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Atlantis crew spent the first full day in space inspecting the shuttle's heat shield, and they reported a 4-inch (10-centimeter) gap, according to NASA's ground control center on Saturday.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida  - A piece of space debris punched a small hole in one of space shuttle Atlantis' radiator panels during its recent 12-day spaceflight, NASA said on Thursday.
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An unidentified piece of debris pierced a radiator on one of the payload bay doors of space shuttle Atlantis during its recent mission, NASA has said.