July 29, 2005, Washington, DC--In addition to cameras mounted on the ground, NASA will conduct detailed in-orbit surface inspections of the space shuttle Discovery using their Orbiter Boom and Sensor System (OBSS), a 50-foot-long robotic arm extension that houses a Laser Dynamic Range Imager (LDRI), a Laser Camera System (LCS), and an Intensified Television Camera (ITVC).
The Shuttle astronaut crew will inspect the leading edges of Discovery's wing and its nose cone using a series of automated and manual robotic maneuvers for the OBSS. The LDRI, manufactured by Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) provides either two- or three-dimensional (3-D) infrared images of the shuttle surface, while the ITVC provides low-light black and white video images. For close-up imaging of tiny anomalies such as cracks and chips on the tiles of the shuttle, the LCS, manufactured by Neptec (Ottawa, ON, Canada; see Optoelectronics Report, July 15, 2005, p. 2), can be used as a 3-D camera or for the generation of computer models of scanned images that are accurate to a few millimeters at a distance of up to 10 m.
With a maximum scan rate of 4 m/min, the inspection will take about 7 hours to complete. Because most of the data is transmitted through a high-speed computer modem to a ground-based data processing station, engineering experts on the ground will need to relay their findings back to the Shuttle crew.
NASA officials announced today that there are a "few nicks" they want to study further. Ground videos showed that loose insulation foam from Discovery's external fuel tank appeared to strike the orbiter wing, but the U.S. space agency said it has found no significant damage. The OBSS will continue its analysis of the Shuttle's thermal protection system.